The Hamster... in a paragraph or five

Richard Hammond was born in Solihull in 1969, but moved to the market city of Ripon, Yorkshire as a child. The oldest of three boys, he went on to study at the Harrogate College of Art and Technology and worked for a number of radio stations before leaving to work in motoring PR.

It was a smart move – not only did he meet his wife Mindy when they both worked at the same London PR company, but the switch from radio to motoring secured him a show on the satellite TV channel Men and Motors. This led to the TV role that made Hammond’s name - in 2002, he hit the small screen as one of the presenters of the reformatted Top Gear.

Richard and Mindy live in Gloucestershire with their two daughters and a menagerie of dogs, cats, sheep, rabbits, horses, plus the obligatory cars and motorbikes. When Richard had his near-fatal dragster car crash in 2006, his wife made the long journey from their home near Cheltenham to Leeds in order to keep a bedside vigil as the diminutive presenter made his recovery.

Hammond failed his first driving test after accelerating towards a set of amber traffic lights. After managing to bag his license, he also managed to write off his first car, a 1976 Toyota Corolla complete with racing stripes, shortly before his 18th birthday.

Hammond has written two books - after the accident that almost claimed his life, he gave a full account of the incident in his autobiography, On the Edge. After the success of that publication, he scribed his second book, As You Do, in which he described life behind the scenes of Top Gear.

And a few tiny facts...

Sheep seller

Richard Hammond was born in Solihull, England on the 19th December 1969, but moved to Ripon in North Yorkshire as a child. After attending the Harrogate College of Art and Technology, he landed his first job in the media - reading out the ‘sheep for sale’ lists on the programme Lamb Bank on BBC Radio Cumbria.

Petrolhead

Richard’s a massive car, motorbike and monster truck fan, and owns a range of vehicles including a Morgan +8 Roadster, an elderly, classic Range Rover, a 1969 Dodge Charger 440 R/T and a 1979 Porsche 928. He even shipped the Opel Kadett that he drove in the Top Gear Africa special (and which he named ‘Oliver’) back to the UK after forming an emotional attachment to it.

Vampire Dragster

The most infamous incident in Richard’s television career is the 2006 Vampire Dragster jet car crash which nearly claimed his life. Shortly after the accident at the RAF Elvington airfield, an appeal for funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (who airlifted him from the accident scene) began. The crash touched the British public to such an extent that more than £230,000 was raised, and the Y.A.A. was actually able to buy a second helicopter.

I’d like to thank…

Richard may have had a bad year in 2006, but 2007 was much kinder to the diminutive sex symbol. As well as coming in at number 32 in a survey of 10,000 women to find the World's Sexiest Man, he was crowned ‘TV Personality of the Year’ at the 10th Annual GQ Men of the Year Awards. He also received plaudits for his hair in December 2007, when a poll declared that his ‘do’ was the ‘Best Hair on TV’.

Player

Richard can play the double bass and used to perform in a band when he was younger. In 2007, Richard reappeared in a new band - this time, for the BBC’s Comic Relief Top Gear special, playing bass alongside James May on keyboards and Jeremy Clarkson on drums. They belted out Billy Ocean’s ‘Red Light Spells Danger’ and were joined by The Darkness’ lead singer Justin Hawkins on vocals.

Pie loving

Richard’s favourite food is Cottage Pie, and when he was recovering in hospital from his jet car crash injuries, he was delighted to see it on the menu. He also likes Cherry Bakewell cakes.

Home sweet home

Richard and his family had a costly house move in 2008, when they moved from Gloucestershire to Buckinghamshire in order to be nearer to London. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long in their new abode – just three days, to be precise. Richard felt that the family were changing from a lifestyle that suited them to one that didn’t, so they returned to the west of England. The move cost him a small fortune though, and he later remarked that the whole episode was just like a ‘very expensive holiday’.

Hamsters and more

He may answer to the nickname Hamster, but Richard loves a whole menagerie of other animals too. The Hammonds own horses, dogs, cats, a rabbit and a handful of chickens and sheep. Richard loves his canines and is the proud owner of Top Gear Dog, the Labradoodle which appeared on the show back in 2006. He has also presented Crufts for the BBC. According to his wife, since his jet car crash, the dogs and the Hamster share a special ESP - his pet hounds can now instantly sense when he's cross with them.