Richard Hammond has shared his views on the future of Top Gear following its extended hiatus from our screens.
The popular BBC show was most recently fronted by Chris Harris, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness, but hasn’t aired since 2022 following an accident during filming.
Flintoff was involved in a horror crash at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022, when filming for the BBC series.
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The ex-cricketer was reportedly hospitalised with broken ribs and facial injuries.
In October, Flintoff reached a reported £9million financial settlement with the BBC.
A BBC Studios spokesperson told LADbible: “BBC Studios has reached an agreement with Freddie that we believe supports his continued rehabilitation, return to work and future plans.
“We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.”
Following the smash, the future of Top Gear has been in question, with a BBC spokesperson revealing it was being ‘rested’ for the ‘foreseeable future’.
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In a statement to the PA news agency back in November, the BBC said: "Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
“The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
“We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.
“All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”
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Now former Top Gear host Hammond, who presented the show alongside James May and Jeremy Clarkson before moving to Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour, has weighed in on the subject.
Speaking to the Daily Star, he shared that he thinks the show will be back and ‘quite soon’.
He told the publication: “I have no doubt Top Gear will come back, probably quite soon. It’s been on air before, then it’s come off and they rest it a bit and then they brought it back.
"That’ll happen again. It’s not the end. It’s a BBC brand.”
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He went on to say that with a new presenting team at the helm, he reckons any new series would be different from previous ones.
“I think when it comes back, it’ll have a different slant,” he said.
“During our stewardship, it grew into what it was. But it wasn’t that before and it doesn’t have to be again.”
Topics: Richard Hammond, TV and Film, Top Gear
Claire Reid