news.today
Hello · Register today | LoginHello · My Account[—] [32]
Tech

Richard Hammond would have continued The Grand Tour if others agreed

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 05:59 · Archive

Richard Hammond says he would have continued The Grand Tour with Jeremy Clarkson and James May if all four principals had wanted to continue.

Richard Hammond has revealed he would have carried on hosting The Grand Tour alongside Jeremy Clarkson, James May and producer Andy Wilman if all four had agreed to continue. Speaking on the High Performance podcast, the 56-year-old explained that the decision to end the show in 2024 was made collectively, requiring unanimous agreement from all four principals.

The three presenters and Wilman had previously worked together on Top Gear, the BBC show which ran from 2002 until 2015. All four left that show in 2015 when Clarkson's contract was not renewed following an altercation with a producer. They subsequently launched The Grand Tour with Amazon, which ran from 2016 to 2024.

Hammond stressed that his willingness to continue or stop was not about being easily persuaded, but about maintaining the cohesion of their long-standing partnership. 'It's quite a complicated four-way relationship, a 25-year career together like that,' he said. 'And if we weren't all in that place of wanting to do it, then I wouldn't want to do it.'

The Grand Tour has since been rebooted with new hosts Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, though Hammond, Clarkson and May have appeared in cameo roles. Producer Wilman told The Sun that Clarkson supported the new line-up after watching their audition tapes, saying: 'Jeremy said he'd only endorse them as long as I like them.'

Richard Hammond would have continued The Grand Tour if others agreed
Image: Westmorland Gazette

Comments (0)

How it is being reported

In this story: Richard Hammond · Jeremy Clarkson · James May · Andy Wilman · The Grand Tour · Amazon · Top Gear

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem