Richard Hammond fears for Top Gear’s future after Freddie Flintoff’s crash

Richard Hammond crashes Vampire drag car in 2006

Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has opened up about the show’s future in light of the near-fatal crashes suffered by both him and Freddie Flintoff while working on the programme.

Production is currently suspended on the show following Freddie’s crash in December last year.

However, Richard, who now co-hosts The Grand Tour on Prime Video, believes that it can make a comeback despite the accidents, saying the BBC will often rest brands but he is “sure there will be other versions in the future.”

“Television makers have to be aware that you’re not in some special bubble just because you’re making a TV show, and things can and do go wrong,” he said.

“I don’t know if Top Gear will come back. It’s up to the BBC – often they will rest a brand…I was lucky enough to be involved in making our version, and I’m sure there will be other versions in the future,” he admitted in an interview with Weekend magazine.

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Richard spent two weeks in a coma in 2006 after crashing in a jet-powered Vampire dragster at 288mph on a Yorkshire airfield when a tyre burst.

His recovery was expected to take 15 months, but he was home at the family castle near Ross-on-Wye in just five weeks.

However, he sustained long-term damage to his brain’s frontal lobe. Despite this, he continued to present Top Gear until 2015.

Meanwhile, Freddie’s crash occurred while filming at Surrey’s Dunsfold Aerodrome as he drove an open-topped three-wheel sports car with a member of the production team inside.

Going at speeds of up to 130 mph, the car crashed and flipped, dragging both the star and the crew member along the track.

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As a result, the 45-year-old suffered serious injuries which reportedly involved broken ribs and serious facial injuries.

It’s believed he was waiting for more than 40 minutes before being airlifted to hospital.

He hadn’t been seen in public until September this year when he was spotted helping the England cricket team prepare for the upcoming one-day World Cup.

In a widely circulated image, in which he wears dark glasses and a bucket hat, he sports a number of visible scars and cuts on his face and appears to be wearing tape across his nose.

Express.co.uk has contacted BBC for comment.

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