Richard Hammond weighs in on Top Gear's future amid axe rumours

Richard Hammond has said he doesn’t know if Top Gear will be back, following Freddie Flintoff’s accident.

The motoring enthusiast used to host Top Gear and in 2006 spent two weeks in a coma himself after crashing a Vampire dragster while filming for the show. He suffered a head injury and there were reports that he had post-traumatic amnesia after the accident.

Then Flintoff was seriously injured in an accident while filming Top Gear last December, raising questions about the show’s future.

"I don’t know if Top Gear will come back," the Daily Mail quoted Hammond as saying. "It’s up to the BBC – often they will rest a brand."

The star said he loved the programme as a child and was "lucky enough" to be involved in making the version he was in, adding: "I’m sure there will be other versions in the future."

Hammond – who now hosts The Grand Tour with his old Top Gear pals Jeremy Clarkson and James May – also suggested that bosses need to think hard about the risks when coming up with stunts for these programmes.

"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. "Just like when my tyre blew at that speed – it’s going to be bad."

Flintoff was driving a three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Top Gear's Surrey test track, at high speed when he had the accident in December.

He suffered facial injuries and stayed out of the public eye for months while he recovered.

Filming was halted after the accident and there has been a lot of speculation about whether the show is coming back.

Just last week, the BBC denied reports it was being axed, with a spokesperson telling PA Media: "A decision on the timing of future Top Gear shows will be made in due course with BBC Content."

Read more:

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• Jeremy Clarkson came close to losing his leg in farm accident

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