Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
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RICHARD Hammond has hit out over claims that Top Gear is too dangerous to make after the BBC show was axed following Freddie Flintoff’s horror smash.

The BBC motoring show was famously fronted by Richard and his co-stars, Jeremy Clarkson and James May, for many years.

Richard Hammond has slammed suggestions Top Gear is too dangerous3

Richard Hammond has slammed suggestions Top Gear is too dangerous
It comes amid Freddie Flintoff's horror crash on the show3

It comes amid Freddie Flintoff’s horror crash on the showCredit: Rex

However, it has faced scrutiny after Freddie was brutally injured during a recent taping for the show which ultimately led to its cancellation.

Speaking out, Richard dismissed reports of the show being ‘too dangerous’, a poignant statement given he survived his own huge crash whilst on the programme.

He indicated that it was just a matter of circumstance and not down to the way in which the show is made.

He said: “I think with all shows occasionally things go wrong. You’ve got to mitigate against that as best you can – and then hope.

“There are dangers to anything. You can fall off a ladder.”

During his time on the show, Richard faced potentially life-changing injuries as a result of a high-speed crash whilst working on the show in 2006.

He was initially unconscious as he was pulled from the wreckage.

Richard was taken by Air Ambulance to a nearby Leeds hospital where he made a full recovery after being placed in a medically-induced coma for two weeks.

Freddie’s incident bore similarity to that of Richard’s crash and led to a £9million compensation payout.

The Ashes cricket hero, 45, negotiated a payout understood to be for two years’ loss of earnings after suffering “life-altering” injuries in the horror crash last December.

The deal — with Top Gear makers BBC Studios — saw Freddie choose not to sue — and waived a potentially bigger payout, The Sun can reveal.

BBC Studios said it had “sincerely apologised to Freddie”.

His legal team said the dad of four is still recovering from injuries that were “life-alteringly significant”.

Both parties are said to be “satisfied” with the package, and excited to ­continue working together in the future.

Richard had his own horror smash on the show

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Richard had his own horror smash on the showCredit: AFP or licensors

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