Richard Hammond discusses working from home, a new auto catering show, and the reintroduction of the Grand Tour. »Wire
Richard Hammond discusses working from home, a new auto catering show, and the reintroduction of the Grand Tour.
TV PRESENTER With his new show of inventive automotive restoration, Richard Hammond says he’s had a “hell of a trip.”
On The Grand Tour and Top Gear, the 51-year-old is known to destroy expensive cars rather than restore them to their former glory.
He nearly died when his rocket-powered car crashed, leaving him with terrible brain damage, and he recently survived with minor injuries when his electric car exploded in flames on a climb.
Richard Hammond’s Workshop, a new Discovery + show, follows him in building a new business with auto restorers Neil and Anthony Greenhouse, and he faces off against accountants, clients and his family.
He also acknowledges that he has already used up his retirement money of thousands of pounds.
“It was a tough race,” he admitted. “The focus of the event has shifted from repairs to setting up the workshop.
“From starting in Neil’s little studio to moving into a new, huge, beautiful one, it turned out to be a hell of a ride.”
He says he’s “still working” on convincing his wife Mindy that the effort is worth it.
“Coming home is one of the themes of the show,” he concluded.
“For the past 25 years, I have lived out of my bag. With my toiletry bag slung over my shoulder, I crossed a landing. Stuff was useless to unpack it as I was leaving in a few days. For 13 years, Hammond, also known as The Hamster, traveled the world with Jeremy Clarkson and James May for the BBC’s Top Gear show, and since 2016 for Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour.
He said: “It’s hard to fit back into the rest of the house because you are so selfish when you travel the world.
“Then you come home to your family and you realize that all of these other people have more basic needs and demands than mine. “
Hammond, who has two children, said he had “realized how much he missed family life” and how Mindy, a Sunday Express columnist, had done in his absence.
“I’ve always done it as a profession to support my family first and foremost,” he explained, “but that meant I had to be away a lot.”
“I had a lot of fun trying to get back into this family. They were wonderful and they made me feel welcome.
” It is not an easy task. “Brinkwire Summary News,” I wrote.