Richard Hammond 'could have gone after BBC' following near-death car smash

Less than a year after The Grand Tour's final episodes landed on Prime Video on September 13 last year, Richard Hammond admits flying solo on screen is taking "some getting used to". Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the petrolhead reflected on the end of his partnership with Jeremy Clarkson, 65, and James May, 62. He also admitted he could have "gone after" the BBC following his near-death crash in 2006.

Since 2003, the 55-year-old's name has been inextricably linked to his former on screen cohorts - first for 22 seasons on Top Gear and then, following their BBC exit in 2015, on The Grand Tour. But, following another nine years of mayhem, the three men parted professional ways. "It took some getting used to," he admits. "It was a massive feature in all of our lives. I've been doing radio and television for 37 years now, but nothing on the scale of that and I never shall do again. And I don't know that I'd want to. I've done it. I think we all felt, let's land it at a time, in a place and in a manner of our choosing," he continues. "And we did. And to draw a line under it and say: 'There we go. I've done that. Now. What am I going to do?' I think that feels absolutely great."

Clarkson is still firmly in the TV spotlight with his wildly popular Clarkson's Farm, as well as his presenting gig on ITV's Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? May, meanwhile, has James May's Shed Load Of Ideas, airing on Quest this autumn, which follows his previous shows such as James May and The Dull Men and James May's Great Explorers.

As for Hammond, he's stayed firmly in the driving seat with his classic car restoration business, aptly named The Smallest Cog, which features in his Discovery Channel show Richard Hammond's Workshop. He is also set to launch his own gin brand, Ratio, at the upcoming 20th anniversary Salon Privé event at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from August 27-31. He will also undertake judging duties for the prestigious Concours de Vente during the festival.

With so much going on and such a zest for life, it is hard to believe he still suffers ongoing issues from a near-death horror high-speed collision while driving a jet-powered dragster during filming for Top Gear in 2006. It left the father of two daughters, Izzy and Willow, in a two-week coma with a frontal lobe brain injury.

Since then, he's suffered post-traumatic amnesia, forgetting events like an interview he gave shortly after the crash. Hammond has also expressed a worry about the potential link between his brain injury and more serious memory conditions like early-onset dementia.

Despite this, he says he never considered quitting the show over it, claiming it was an accident. However, he acknowledges he could have taken action against his then employers the BBC.

"We always took every step we could to mitigate risk - and accidents happen," he says. "Things go wrong. If a tire blows at 320mph, there's going to be a crash. And that's just a fact, and it's an accident.

"Yes, I could have gone after the BBC, and we could have pursued it to the ends of the world, and discovered that it was a fault with whoever tapped the rubber to make the tire because it got a fly in it - I don't know, there'll be something.

"But the fact of the matter remains, it's an accident, and they happen. And thankfully, they had a paramedic on hand. They had the right numbers to call. They knew what to do in an emergency, and my life was saved as a result of that. It's down to the team and the paramedics and the doctors."

Richard Hammond will judge the Concours de Vente at the 20th anniversary Salon Privé event at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from August 27-31.