Richard Hammond career, biography and TV shows, logged in full
Richard Hammond TV presenter and journalist, known to millions as “The Hamster” on Top Gear and The Grand Tour — this record tracks his full career, biography and TV shows history, from local radio in Yorkshire onward, kept current as it happens — an independent, fan-built reference.
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He’s a little man with a big heart. He’s got the spirit of a lion and the body of a hamster.
Jeremy Clarkson — co-host, Top Gear & The Grand Tour
Six sections of the Richard Hammond record — biography, career, TV shows and more
Six objects behind the Richard Hammond record
A rough sketch and notes — the kind of thing behind a career built on taking motoring seriously, and not too seriously, at once.
A racing helmet — the Top Gear and Grand Tour years turned stunts and speed into the job.
A studio pass — 24-plus years moving between local radio, satellite TV and network broadcast.
A road map and compass — the premise behind The Perfect Road Trip and a run of adventure specials.
A manuscript in progress — four books, from a 2006 recovery memoir to travel writing.
A workshop toolbox — the real business behind The Smallest Cog and Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
The Richard Hammond career, stage by stage
Harrogate College
Studies media after Ripon Grammar School — the first chapter in the Richard Hammond biography; starts in local radio soon after.
Local radio & Men and Motors
Years across BBC Radio York, Leeds and Newcastle, then a motoring-channel audition tape that reached Top Gear.
Top Gear
Joins the revived Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May as the Richard Hammond TV presenter era begins; earns the nickname “The Hamster.”
Brainiac: Science Abuse
Fronts the first series of the science-stunt show.
The Elvington crash
A jet-dragster tyre failure at RAF Elvington leaves him with a serious brain injury.
Back on air
Returns to Top Gear 130 days later; publishes On the Edge: My Story.
Total Wipeout
Starts presenting the BBC One game show alongside Amanda Byram.
The Grand Tour & DriveTribe
Reunites with Clarkson and May for Amazon’s The Grand Tour, and the same trio co-found DriveTribe, an automotive digital-media startup, alongside producer Andy Wilman and entrepreneur Ernesto Schmitt.
The Smallest Cog
Founds The Smallest Cog, a real classic-car restoration business in Herefordshire — funded in part by selling his own Porsche 911T — documented on-screen as Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
The Grand Tour ends
The trio close out The Grand Tour with a final special.
Crashes & Close Calls
On 20 September 2006, a jet-dragster tyre failure at RAF Elvington left Hammond with a serious brain injury. He returned to present Top Gear 130 days later, and the same year’s events are the subject of his first book, On the Edge: My Story. It’s filed here in full — the record isn’t the record without it.
This record exists because the Richard Hammond record was scattered across a dozen thin pages elsewhere. It brings his career, biography and TV shows history into one place, organised by topic rather than left as a single wall of text, and updated as his career continues rather than frozen at one point in time.
DriveTribe and The Smallest Cog both sit outside television, but both are still part of the same Richard Hammond career story — the business side of a working life built on cars.
Frequently Asked
Q01 Is this Richard Hammond's official website?
No. The Hamster's Cage is an independently run fan reference, not an official Richard Hammond site, and it is not operated by him, his management, or any broadcaster he has worked with.
Q02 What TV shows is Richard Hammond known for?
Richard Hammond is best known for presenting Top Gear (2002–2015, 2021) and The Grand Tour (2016–2024), alongside a wide run of science and adventure factual television.
Q03 Has Richard Hammond written any books?
Yes — four books: On the Edge (2007), As You Do (2008), Or Is That Just Me? (2009) and On the Road: Growing Up in Eight Journeys (2013).
Q04 Is this Richard Hammond record kept up to date?
Yes. News, appearances and career updates are logged as they are confirmed — see the News section.