105-458: Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May . From 2016 to 2024, the trio presented Amazon Prime Video 's The Grand Tour . Hammond has also presented entertainment documentary series Brainiac: Science Abuse (2003–2008),
210-639: A five-second memory . Despite saying he was "absolutely fixed" on the Jonathan Ross episode, in 2011, while talking to the Daily Mirror , Hammond admitted he had no memory of the interview, saying: "I lost a year. I don't remember doing the interview with Jonathan Ross or doing Top Gear Live in South Africa" showing the full impact of his brain injury five years before. The crash was shown on an episode of Top Gear on 28 January 2007 (Season 9, Episode 1); this
315-487: A 2010 television programme where he interviewed Sir Stirling Moss and they discussed the brain injuries they had both received as a result of car crashes. In 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of Brainiac: Science Abuse ; he was joined by Jon Tickle and Charlotte Hudson in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed an exclusive deal with
420-536: A Motorcycle Road Race meeting at Elvington, with a second meeting in September. The following season these were upgraded to National Status events. Although local critics thought the club had gone well over the top, the National event attracted over 400 riders, including stars of the future like Mick Grant and Barry Sheene . The Auto 66 Club continued to organise meetings at this track. In October 1969, when preparing for
525-767: A SAC base and was abandoned by the US Air Force in 1958. In the early 1960s the Blackburn Aircraft Company , now part of British Aerospace used the runway for test flights of the Blackburn Buccaneer . Elvington retained its status as an RAF relief landing ground and was used by the RAF flying training schools at RAF Church Fenton and RAF Linton-on-Ouse until the airfield was finally closed in March 1992. The following units were also here at some point: A race circuit
630-504: A challenge at the Monza high-speed banked-oval circuit to a record held by Moto Guzzi , Ray Pickrell practiced by riding a Dunstall Norton road-going motorcycle during a regular sprint meeting . He set a new national record for the 750 cc class flying quarter mile at 144.69 mph (232.86 km/h). On 3 October 1970 Tony Densham, driving the Ford-powered "Commuter" dragster, set
735-450: A fictional six-episode adventure series for Amazon , which was produced by Chimp Productions. The series stranded the pair on a deserted island where they used the resources they could find to build the means to survive. On 10 June 2017, Hammond crashed a Rimac Concept One while filming for The Grand Tour in Hemberg , Switzerland. He was on his last run up a timed hillclimb course during
840-529: A film on an issue most important to them. BBC2's Community Programme Unit kept this aspect of the channel's tradition alive into the 1990s in the form of Video Diaries and later Video Nation . The Community Programmes Unit was disbanded in 2004. BBC Two has also given various programmes from around the world their first UK broadcasts, and have introduced many more to terrestrial audiences. International shows that have been broadcast on BBC Two include M*A*S*H , The Simpsons , 24 , Family Guy , Buffy
945-503: A full recovery. The accident investigation said: "an almost instantaneous blow out of the right side front tyre caused the accident." World records for the fastest Wheelie bin at 43 miles per hour (69 km/h), and the fastest electric wheelchair at 66 miles per hour (106 km/h) were set in 2020. Zef Eisenberg of MADMAX Race team, who holds numerous land speed records, crashed his 560 hp Rolls-Royce Turbine powered motorbike at Elvington airfield on 18 September 2016, during
1050-477: A means to meet people from the motoring press. Presenting the afternoon programme at Radio Lancashire , his regular guests included motoring journalist Zog Zieglar, who would review a car of the week by being interviewed by Hammond over the phone. The two became good friends, and it was Zieglar who encouraged Hammond to enter into motoring reviews on television. After starting out on satellite TV ( Men & Motors ), he auditioned for Top Gear . Hammond became
1155-563: A memorial was unveiled in Elvington village dedicated to the two French squadrons. While they were at RAF Elvington nearly half of the squadrons' members were killed. After the war the 400-acre (1.6 km ) airfield was transferred to No. 40 Group RAF under the control of RAF Maintenance Command until 1952 when it was greatly enlarged and extended for use by the United States Air Force . The United States Air Force (USAF) built
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#17328689123431260-557: A modified version of Creative Assembly 's Rome: Total War game engine. Since February 2011, Hammond has presented an online technology series Richard Hammond's Tech Head . In July 2011, Hammond presented a two-part natural science documentary Richard Hammond's Journey to the Centre of the Planet , focused on Earth geology and plate tectonics. In April 2012, Hammond hosted a BBC America programme titled Richard Hammond's Crash Course , which
1365-400: A new 3,094 m (10,151 ft) runway, which was the longest in the north of England, and a huge 19.8 hectares (49 acres) rectangular hardstanding apron as well as a new control tower to turn Elvington into a "Basic Operation Platform" which would have operated as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) dispersal airfield. After spending £4 million the airfield never became operational as
1470-501: A peak speed of 155.77 miles per hour (250.69 km/h). In 2023 Professional Skateboarder and presenter Ryan Swain announced he was to attempt a Guinness World Records in skateboarding at Elvington on 8 May 2023 in aid of Mind mental health charity. He will be attempting to skateboard over 300 miles in less than 24 hours and will be the first GB Skateboarder to hold the record if completed. On 25 May 2023, engineer Allen Millyard together with television presenter Henry Cole set
1575-525: A personality. At the time, BBC Two became the first BBC channel to feature a box logo. In 2007, BBC Two debuted the new theme , a "Window on the World", with the 2 numeral providing that view. Introduced on 18 February 2007, the new look also had the channel adopt a teal-coloured box logo, featuring the BBC logo above the word TWO , now in the font Avenir . In 2014, in honour of the channel's 50th anniversary, some of
1680-460: A presenter on Top Gear in 2002, when the show began in its revamped format. He is sometimes referred to as "The Hamster" by fans and his co-presenters due to his name and relatively small stature compared to May and Clarkson. His nickname was further reinforced when on two occasions in series 7 , he ate cardboard, mimicking hamster -like behaviour. Following a high-speed dragster crash while filming in September 2006 near York, Hammond returned in
1785-778: A pulse and heard the unconscious Hammond breathing before the car was turned upright. Hammond was cut free with hydraulic shears , and placed on a backboard . "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain". He was then transported by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to the neurological unit of the Leeds General Infirmary . Hammond's family visited him at the hospital along with Top Gear co-presenters James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson wished Hammond well, saying "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'Hamster' back", referring to Hammond by his nickname. For five weeks while Hammond
1890-455: A separate schedule of Welsh-produced programming in comparison to the analogue BBC Two Wales. BBC 2W was discontinued in 2008 due to the transition to digital terrestrial television, with the main BBC Two Wales schedule being carried on Freeview thereafter. BBC Two Scotland operated until February 2019, when it was replaced by the national feed. Concurrently, a bespoke BBC Scotland channel
1995-503: A show with Discovery+ about the restoration of old cars. Its first episode has been shown on 18 October 2021 with a total of 26 episodes in three seasons. Richard Hammond's Workshop has aired four seasons. Hammond has been married to Amanda "Mindy" Hammond, a columnist for the Daily Express , since May 2002. They have two daughters born in 2001 and 2004. It was his friend Zog Zieglar who first gave Hammond his nickname Hamster. After
2100-473: A state of competition since ITV's launch in 1955, and both had aimed for a populist approach in response. The 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting noticed this, and that ITV lacked any culturally relevant programming. It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC. Prior to its launch, the new BBC2 was promoted on the BBC Television Service:
2205-401: A three-episode series called Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds , which looked at things too fast for the naked eye to see, things that are beyond the visible spectrum (e.g., ultraviolet and infra-red light), as well as microscopic things. One of Hammond's lesser known television roles was as presenter of the BBC Two gameshow Time Commanders , a sophisticated warfare simulator which used
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#17328689123432310-507: A three-part science documentary for BBC One called Wild Weather with Richard Hammond which focuses on the hidden world of our Earth's extreme weather system. In September 2015, Hammond presented a two-part documentary for Sky 1 called Richard Hammond's Jungle Quest , supported by Sky Rainforest Rescue. In March 2017, whilst filming for The Grand Tour episode Feed the world in Mozambique , Hammond frequently fell off his motorbike due to
2415-401: A two way speed record attempt. It was reported that he did not see the finish line, causing him to leave the end of the runway and crash at a speed of around 230 mph. He sustained 11 broken bones and was hospitalised for three months. It was believed to be Britain's fastest motorbike crash survivor. After rebuilding his Turbine powered bike and making a recovery that surprised the doctors, he
2520-416: A world motorcycle speed-record, ratified by Guinness World Records at 183.50 mph (295.31 km/h), achieved with the pair riding "tandem" on the one-off, road-legal hand-made Millyard Viper , beating by two mph the previous record held by an American couple for over 10 years. The airfield is now owned by Elvington Park Ltd. The adjacent buildings and control tower have been restored, and serve as
2625-456: Is Vampire , driven by Fallows, which hit a speed of 300.3 mph (483.3 km/h) on 5 July 2000 at Elvington. On 20 September 2006 Elvington Airfield was the location of a serious crash involving the Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and "Vampire". The jet-powered car he was driving crashed while travelling at 280 mph (450 km/h). Hammond suffered serious brain injuries, but made
2730-597: Is also available on cable and IPTV in the Netherlands , Belgium, Switzerland , Monaco and Liechtenstein . The channel is registered to broadcast within the European Union/EEA through the Luxembourgish Broadcasting Regulator – ALIA. On 27 March 2013, it began being carried by British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to members of HM Forces and their families around the world, replacing
2835-583: Is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham car industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family to the North Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon located 10 miles south of the market town of Bedale , and 8 miles south of the historic village of Thornton Watlass where his father ran a probate business in the market square. He attended Blossomfield Infant School in Solihull's Sharmans Cross district from
2940-452: Is to be a mixed-genre channel appealing to a broad adult audience with programmes of depth and substance. It should carry the greatest amount and range of knowledge building programming of any BBC television channel, complemented by distinctive comedy, drama and arts programming. BBC Two's historical scope was arts, culture, some comedy and drama, and appealing to audiences not already served by BBC One or ITV. Over its first thirty or so years
3045-515: The Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show with his co-presenter Mel Giedroyc . The programme, which discussed a wide range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV between 17:00 and 18:00. In July 2005, Hammond was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents. He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006. During the special, he travelled to various locations around the world, including
3150-632: The BBC . Vic Reeves took his place as main presenter for the show's final two series. Early in his career, as well as his radio work, Hammond presented a number of daytime lifestyle shows and motoring programmes such as Motor Week on Men & Motors . He presented the Crufts dog show in 2005, the 2004 and 2005 British Parking Awards, and has appeared on School's Out , a quiz show on BBC One where celebrities answer questions about things they learned at school. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding
3255-626: The BBC Red Button , and until 23 October 2012, via the Ceefax teletext service. RAF Elvington Royal Air Force Elvington or more simply RAF Elvington is a former Royal Air Force satellite station which operated from the beginning of the Second World War until 1992 located at Elvington , Yorkshire , England. It is now the location of the Yorkshire Air Museum . The station
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3360-702: The BBC Television executive group and is answerable to the head of that department, and to the BBC Board . On 20 January 2016, Kim Shillinglaw announced that she had decided to leave the BBC as the Controller of BBC Two & BBC Four; as a result of the reorganisation, the posts of Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four were closed. Patrick Holland became Channel Controller of BBC Two in March 2017, following his earlier appointment as Channel Editor in July 2016. BBC Two's remit
3465-808: The BFBS2 TV channel, which already carried a selection of BBC Two programmes. It shares a channel with CBBC , which broadcasts from early morning until the early evening. All feeds of BBC Two in both SD and HD are broadcast unencrypted on the Astra 2E and 2G satellites, allowing viewing across Belgium, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and parts of France, Germany and Spain. The BBC announced in May 2008 that it had achieved its aim for all programming to have subtitles for viewers with hearing difficulties. These are available on
3570-473: The Elvington runway. Vampire's speed was to be recorded using GPS satellite telemetry. The intention was to record the maximum speed, not to measure an average speed over a measured course, and for (Hammond) to describe how it felt." Hammond was completing a seventh and final run to collect extra footage for the programme when his front-right tyre failed, and, according to witness and paramedic Dave Ogden, "one of
3675-638: The Parliament session , political debate programme Politics Live is broadcast on BBC Two. On Wednesdays, due to the Prime Minister's Questions , the programme is broadcast at the earlier time of 11:15am. The programme is not broadcast on Fridays or when Parliament is on a holiday break, so the simulcast of BBC News Now continues until 1:00pm for the BBC News at One on BBC One. At 10:30pm, current affairs programme Newsnight provides reports and analysis of
3780-687: The Vatican Secret Archives , exploring the history of the Holy Grail . As part of Red Nose Day 2007, Hammond stood for nomination via a public telephone vote, along with Andy Hamilton and Kelvin MacKenzie , to be a one-off co-presenter of BBC Radio 4 's Woman's Hour on 16 March 2007. However, he was defeated by Andy Hamilton. In April 2007, Hammond presented a one-off special on BBC Radio 2 for Good Friday followed by another in August 2007 for
3885-399: The death and state funeral respectively of Elizabeth II . In a 2013 BBC Populus poll, BBC Two had the third-highest per-country TV channel quality rating among viewers surveyed in 14 countries, behind BBC One and Brazil's TV Cultura . The 1991 idents featured a sans-serif numeral 2 at the centre of an initially art-related scene; however, the idents moved away from this style as
3990-498: The labradoodle was afraid of cars. The dog died at age 11 in January 2017. BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC . It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and documentaries. BBC Two has a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance " in contrast to
4095-495: The 1960s. Like the early Channel 4 , BBC Two also established for itself a reputation as a champion of independent and international cinema, under the Screen 2 brand. The channel has sometimes been judged, increasingly in more recent years, to have moved away from this original role and closer to the mainstream. Since the launch of the digital-only BBC Four , the BBC has been accused in particular of shifting its more highbrow output to
4200-575: The 1990s idents were re-introduced and from 2015, BBC Two Northern Ireland opted to use nearly forty idents from the 1991–2001 set. On 27 September 2018, the 1991–2001 idents were retired once again and BBC Two introduced a new set of idents, based on scenes incorporating a curve motif resembling the number 2. The new branding is designed to reflect BBC Two's "constant evolution, constant eclecticism, [and] constant sense of quality". The new idents are produced by various artists and studios, including Aardman Animations , The Mill and others. The new identity
4305-459: The BBC multiplex, at first four, then two weeks ahead of the other four channels. This was required for those relay transmitters that had no current Freeview service giving viewers time to purchase the equipment unless they had already selected a satellite or cable service. The last region for BBC Two to end on analogue terrestrial television was Northern Ireland on 10 October 2012. At the 2012 Edinburgh International Television Festival , BBC Two
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4410-460: The Bergrennen Hemberg event. Just after crossing the finish line, the car ran off the road, tumbled down the hill and eventually came to rest upside down 110 metres (360 ft) from the road. Hammond remained conscious throughout and he later described the feeling of "oh god, I'm going to die", as well as being "aware of tumbling – sky, ground, sky, ground, sky, ground, sky, ground." He
4515-531: The Coronavirus pandemic, BBC1 aired press conferences from the UK government about major developments from the pandemic and the scheduled BBC One programming during those News Specials was broadcast on BBC Two. However, on 9 April 2021 – the day of the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – BBC Two and BBC One both simulcast BBC News for the whole day. The same would happen on both 8 and 19 September 2022, following
4620-551: The Legend . Along with his work on Top Gear , he presented Should I Worry About...? on BBC One, Time Commanders on BBC Two and the first four series of Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1 . He was also a team captain on the BBC Two quiz show, Petrolheads , in which a memorable part was one where Hammond was tricked into bumping his classic Ferrari while trying to parallel park blindfolded in another car. In 2006, Hammond fronted
4725-562: The Official outright wheel driven record at Elvington by averaging 207.6 mph (334.1 km/h) over the flying kilometre course. This broke Malcolm Campbell 's record set 43 years previously at Pendine Sands . In 1990 Elvington hosted an attempt to match the speed record run of the Sunbeam Tiger motor car, originally driven by Henry Segrave (on 21 March 1926, he set his first land speed record in his 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger Ladybird on
4830-502: The UK on BBC Two on 28 June at 8 p.m, and in the United States on BBC America on 13 July at 9 p.m. During filming of a Top Gear segment at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York on 20 September 2006, Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting. He was travelling at 288 mph (463 km/h) at the time of the crash. His vehicle, a dragster called Vampire ,
4935-670: The UK version of the US series Wipeout , called Total Wipeout for BBC One . It took place in Argentina, and was co-presented by Hammond and Amanda Byram . Hammond presented and performed the voiceover for the clips in a London studio, and Byram was filmed at the obstacle course in Buenos Aires. The series was cancelled at the end of 2012. Hammond also presented a science-themed game show for children, Richard Hammond's Blast Lab which aired on BBC Two and CBBC . In March 2010, Hammond presented
5040-632: The Vampire Slayer , Malcolm in the Middle , American Dad! , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , The Ren & Stimpy Show , Moonlighting , The Tracey Ullman Show and Star Trek: Voyager . In January 2013, BBC Two ceased to show children's programmes and replaced the weekday morning schedule with repeats of the previous BBC One daytime schedule, children's programmes was returned in 2017 and 2022 in Saturday morning. It also began showing Sign Zone in
5145-514: The accident occurred during an attempt to break the British land speed record, but the Health and Safety Executive report on the crash found that a proposal to try to officially break the record was vetoed in advance by Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman , due to the risks and complexities of such a venture. The report stated: "Runs were to be carried out in only one direction along a pre-set course on
5250-553: The age of 3–7. Originally a pupil of Solihull School , a fee-paying boys' independent school, he moved to Ripon Grammar School , and from 1986 to 1988 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology . According to an episode of Top Gear (Season 16, Episode 5), Hammond's first job was shovelling grit into a water filtration plant. After graduation, Hammond worked for several BBC radio stations , including Radio Cleveland , Radio York , Radio Cumbria , Radio Leeds and Radio Newcastle ; as well as working for Renault 's press office as
5355-405: The arts strand The Culture Show . Its most popular programme at the moment is Top Gear , which now moved to BBC One. Much of BBC Two's output has previously or subsequently been shown on other channels. Some of these programmes are repeats of popular or flagship programmes from BBC Four in a late-night strand, originally called BBC Four on Two but now unbranded. Other programmes are moved to
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#17328689123435460-481: The bank holiday. Hammond recorded an interview with the famed American stuntman Evel Knievel , which aired on 23 December 2007 on BBC Two , and was Knievel's last interview before his death on 30 November 2007. In September 2008, Hammond presented the first episode of a new series; Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections on the National Geographic Channel . In this show, Hammond discovered how
5565-491: The butt of a joke when he did not return to New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2010 . His fellow Top Gear co-hosts said he was too embarrassed to come back to New Zealand, and in a supposed live feed back to Hammond, the feed suddenly drops out as the "XT Network had crashed". Hammond was later given the right of reply to his colleagues during an interview with Marcus Lush on RadioLIVE's breakfast show in New Zealand. Hammond hosted
5670-497: The car and to try to steer into the skid. Immediately afterwards he also seems to have followed his training and to have pulled back on the main parachute release lever, thus shutting down the jet engine and also closing the jet and afterburner fuel levers. The main parachute did not have time to deploy before the car ran off the runway." The HSE notes that, based on the findings of the North Yorkshire Police (who investigated
5775-582: The cast of TV show Ashes To Ashes for a special insert on the 2008 Children in Need special. While in New Zealand for Top Gear Live 2009 , Hammond filmed several television commercials for Telecom New Zealand 's new XT UTMS mobile network. Telecom claimed that the new network was "faster in more places", compared to its competitors and its existing CDMA network. After the network suffered three highly publicised outages in late 2009 and early 2010, Hammond became
5880-650: The channel as a result of their success on BBC Three or Four, so that subsequent series are well received. An example of this is the BBC Three series Torchwood , which was transferred to the channel following the success of the first series. BBC Two is also used as a testing ground for programmes prior to their moving to the flagship BBC One : such examples include Have I Got News for You and popular comedies Absolutely Fabulous and Miranda , which moved to BBC One after success on Two. Also in August 2014, The Great British Bake Off moved to BBC One, due to its success
5985-572: The channel developed a reputation for screening highly praised and prestigious drama series, among these Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), 1991's highly successful The Men's Room , the costume drama Middlemarch (1994) or 1996's critically acclaimed Our Friends in the North . The channel's "highbrow" profile is also in part attributable to a long history of demanding documentaries of all types, beginning with Civilisation and The Ascent of Man in
6090-475: The channel in March 2014 and until Kim Shillinglaw began as the new permanent occupant of the post. From 2013, the Controller of BBC Two was given the expanded title Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four , with ultimate oversight of the BBC Four service added to their duties (a BBC Four "Channel Editor", reporting up to this Controller, was allocated day-to-day operational control of Four). The channel forms part of
6195-469: The channel. The launch schedule, postponed from the night before, was then successfully shown that evening, albeit with minor changes. In reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a lit candle which was then sarcastically blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy . To establish the new channel's identity and draw viewers to it, the BBC decided that a widely promoted, lavish series would be essential in its earliest days. The production chosen
6300-458: The couple announced the impending birth of their first child, Zieglar's response was "And out will pop another hamster." The nickname stuck, especially on Top Gear due to his name and relatively small stature compared to May and Clarkson. His nickname was further reinforced when on three occasions in series 7 , he ate cardboard, mimicking hamster behaviour. He and his family adopted TG, the official Top Gear dog, after it became apparent that
6405-421: The crash), "the accident may not have been recoverable", even if Hammond's efforts to react were as fast as "humanly possible". Hammond made his first TV appearance since the crash on the BBC chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 22 December, just three months after the incident, where he revealed he was in a medically induced coma for two weeks and afterwards suffered from post-traumatic amnesia and
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#17328689123436510-436: The crash, immediate aftermath, and his recovery, was published later that year. In February 2008, Hammond gave an interview to The Sunday Times newspaper in which he described the effects of his brain injuries and the progression of his recovery. He reported suffering loss of memory , depression and difficulties with emotional experiences, for which he was consulting a psychiatrist . He also talked about his recovery in
6615-403: The early hours; prior to 2013, this had been broadcast by BBC One. This was the only channel that broadcast Sign Zone in the early hours until the relaunch of BBC Three as a television channel in 2022. From October 2013, BBC Two has shown classic programmes like Bergerac , Cagney and Lacey , The Rockford Files , 'Allo 'Allo! , and Are You Being Served? on weekday afternoons, with
6720-404: The first episode of series 9 (broadcast on 28 January 2007) to a hero's welcome, complete with dancing girls, aeroplane-style stairs and fireworks. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, with Hammond talking through the events of the day after which the audience broke into spontaneous applause. Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on
6825-463: The game show Total Wipeout (2009–2012) and nature documentary series Planet Earth Live (2012). In 2016, along with Clarkson and May, Hammond launched the automotive social media website DriveTribe . Hammond was born on 19 December 1969, in Solihull , England, eldest of three sons of Alan Hammond and Eileen, née Dunsby. His younger brothers are Andrew (writer of the 'Crypt' series) and Nicholas. He
6930-490: The interests of the sport." As a result, the Bergrennen Hemberg organizers were fined $ 5,138, and six-month license suspensions were imposed on race director Christian Müller and stewards Hermann Müller, Karl Marty, and Daniel Lenglet. In August of that year, Motorsport.com reported that the future of the entire event was "now in jeopardy." Despite the reports, the Bergrennen Hemberg continues to be run annually. Hammond announced on Twitter on 21 June 2021 that he would be making
7035-652: The inventions of the past, along with assistance from nature, help designers today. Episodes include the building of the Airbus A380 , Taipei 101 and the Keck Observatory . Series 2 of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections began in May 2010 and has included the building of the Wembley Stadium and the Sydney Opera House . Hammond appeared in an advertisement for Morrisons supermarkets in 2008, and joined
7140-551: The more mainstream and popular BBC One . Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence , and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded public-service channel, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service channels worldwide. Originally styled BBC2 , it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 21 April 1964), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It
7245-574: The new channel, which, until the end of the UK's digital TV switchover in October 2012, a minority (7.5% in the final quarter of 2010) of viewers did not receive. BBC Four's remit is very similar to the earlier remit of BBC2, and contains many documentaries and arts programmes. It has been perceived by some that this strategy is to allow BBC Two to show more popular programmes and to secure higher ratings. Since 2004 there have been some signs of an attempt to return closer to parts of BBC Two's earlier output with
7350-413: The parachutes had deployed but it (the car) went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." The emergency crew quickly arrived at the car, finding it inverted and partially embedded in the grass. During the roll, Hammond's helmet had embedded itself into the ground, flipping the visor up and forcing soil into his mouth and damaging his left eye. Rescuers felt
7455-520: The poor roads. On one occasion he reportedly hit his head and was knocked unconscious. During the season finale of The Grand Tour season three, Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson announced the current format was coming to the end and later announced that there would be two more seasons of specials, without the tent or live audience. In January 2021, Hammond starred alongside MythBusters ' Tory Belleci in The Great Escapists ,
7560-419: The possibility of continuing to present Top Gear , commenting via Twitter that "amidst all this talk of us 'quitting' or not: there's nothing for me to 'quit' not about to quit my mates anyway". On 12 June 2015, the BBC confirmed that Top Gear would return with a 75-minute special, combining two unseen challenges featuring all three presenters from series 22, with studio links from Hammond and May. It aired in
7665-518: The previous year on BBC Two. In 2017, Bake Off moved from BBC One to Channel 4 . Another founding part of BBC Two was to provide educational and community programming on the BBC, as part of its public service remit. The educational section of this commitment saw BBC2 broadcast a large amount of programming for the Open University , who co-produced programming with the corporation, and saw the channel broadcast BBC Schools programmes from 1983 until
7770-461: The programmes were transferred to the BBC Learning Zone in 2010. As a result of the channel's commitment to community broadcasting, the channel produced the symbolic Open Space series, a strand developed in the early 1970s in which members of the public would be allotted half an hour of television time, and given a level of editorial and technical training in order to produce for themselves
7875-420: The retro logos from 1970s and 1980s, between the current programmes. In October 2014, Russell Howard's Good News and Backchat moved to BBC Two from BBC Three. In 2014, BBC Two commissioned Britain's first transgender sitcom, Boy Meets Girl , which follows the developing relationship between Leo, a 26-year-old man, and Judy, a 40-year-old transgender woman. From 7 April 2015, the morning Sign Zone
7980-456: The sands at Southport, England at 152.33 mph). The re-run at Elvington on the two mile (3 km) runway was recorded at 159 mph (256 km/h). In the summer of 1998 Colin Fallows bettered Richard Noble 's outright UK Record, driving his "Vampire" jet dragster at Elvington with an average of 269 mph (433 km/h). The current non wheel-driven British Land Speed Record holder
8085-419: The show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, "The only difference between me now and before the crash is that I like celery now and I didn't before". Following the BBC's decision not to renew Clarkson's contract with the show on 25 March 2015, Hammond's contract expired on 31 March. In April, he ruled out
8190-421: The soon-to-be-renamed BBC1 . The animated adverts featured the campaign mascots "Hullabaloo", a mother kangaroo , and "Custard", her joey . Prior to, and several years after, the channel's formal launch, the channel broadcast " Trade Test Transmissions ", short films made externally by companies such as Shell and BP , which served to enable engineers to test reception, but became cult viewing. The channel
8295-482: The station's adoption of the first computer-generated channel identification (ident) in Britain, with its use of the double striped, orange '2' logo , heralded the start of computer-generated logos. The ident, created in-house by BBC engineers, lasted until March 1986. As the switch to digital-only terrestrial transmission progressed, BBC Two was (in each region in turn) the first analogue TV channel to be replaced with
8400-466: The station's style changed. Although highly praised, this expansive set of idents was ended in November 2001. The BBC corporate logo was updated within the idents in October 1997, though the idents moved away from the original viridian colour scheme in these latter years. The subsequent presentation style was introduced on 19 November 2001 and kept the same figure 2 , but in a yellow background and given
8505-497: The stories behind the day's headlines. BBC Two does not broadcast any news and current affairs programming at the weekend. From 2017 until 2019, it broadcast the UK selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest , Eurovision: You Decide . The channel stopped broadcasting the show after the 2019 edition due to the fact that the BBC opted for an internal selection in collaboration with BMG Rights Management . In 2020, it
8610-458: The time. In 1974, BBC2's widely acclaimed singer-songwriter series, In Concert , was lauded by The Guardian as the only British music television program that "produced television ideas". Unlike BBC1 and ITV, BBC2 was broadcast only on the 625-line UHF system, so was not available to viewers still using sets only capable of receiving the 405-line VHF system. This created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between
8715-451: The two systems. Set manufacturers increased production of UHF sets in anticipation of a large market demand for the new BBC2, but the market did not materialise. . The early technical problems, which included being unable to transmit US-recorded videotapes due to a lack of system conversion from the US NTSC system, were resolved by a committee headed by James Redmond , although this problem
8820-406: Was The Forsyte Saga (1967), a no-expense-spared adaptation of the novels by John Galsworthy , featuring well-established actors Kenneth More and Eric Porter . Critically for the future of the fledgling channel, the BBC's gamble was hugely successful, with an average of six million viewers per episode: a feat made more prominent by the fact that only 9 million were able to receive the channel at
8925-462: Was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at Alexandra Palace , but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed. Associated-Rediffusion , the London weekday ITV franchise-holder, offered to transmit on the BBC's behalf, but their gesture was rejected. At 22:00 programming was officially postponed until the following morning. As the BBC's news centre at Alexandra Palace
9030-411: Was airlifted to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a tibial plateau fracture in his left knee, and a plate and ten screws were surgically inserted. It was the biggest crash I've ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK. Jeremy Clarkson and James May, fellow presenters on The Grand Tour , both witnessed the scene from afar; believing Hammond
9135-467: Was also shown in the UK from September 2012 on BBC Two. In May 2012, Hammond co-presented an animal documentary for BBC One called Planet Earth Live alongside Julia Bradbury . The programme recorded animals living in extreme conditions. In June 2014, Hammond presented a scientific fourteen part series on National Geographic Channel titled Science of Stupid which focused on the application of physics in everyday life. In December, Hammond presented
9240-455: Was dead, May recalled feeling a "blossoming, white-hot ball of pure, sickening horror forming in my heart", and Clarkson described his "knees turning to jelly" at the sight of the crash. After the ordeal, the FIA allegedly ruled that the "show runs" that Hammond and company were doing at the time of the accident violated the governing body's International Sporting Code and that the crash "acted against
9345-468: Was developed by BBC Creative and Superunion. BBC Two also has regional variations in Wales and Northern Ireland , which occasionally opt out of the national BBC Two feed to air programmes of local interest. In November 2001, BBC Wales introduced a special opt-out service known as BBC 2W , which aired weekdays from 8.30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the BBC Two Wales channel space on digital television, and carried
9450-625: Was envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming, and while this tendency has continued to date, most special-interest programmes of a kind previously broadcast on BBC Two, for example the BBC Proms , now tend to appear on BBC Four instead. British television at the time of BBC2's launch consisted of two channels: the BBC Television Service and the ITV network made up of smaller regional companies. Both channels had existed in
9555-634: Was established which appears to have been used by the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC). The inaugural car race meeting took place on 8 July 1962 and was reported by Autosport , which said that the BRSCC hoped to run a further meeting September, but this appears not to have taken place. A second meeting did take place a year after on 7 July 1963, but these two appear to have been the sum total of car racing at Elvington. However, in June 1970 Auto 66 Club held
9660-508: Was launched, which simulcasts the BBC Two schedule with opt-outs for local programming from 7:00 p.m. to midnight nightly, and occasionally during the afternoon for news and sports programmes. The Northern Irish version of BBC Two is widely available in the Republic of Ireland on satellite and cable , as well as being received directly in areas bordering Northern Ireland , or in coastal areas from Wales . The national version of BBC Two
9765-454: Was named "Terrestrial Channel of the Year". A high-definition simulcast of BBC Two began broadcasting on 26 March 2013, replacing the standalone BBC HD channel. As of 29 November 2018 , there are three variations of BBC Two HD (Wales, Northern Ireland, and England). The channel controllers have been: Adam Barker served as Acting Controller of the channel after Janice Hadlow left
9870-797: Was not unique to BBC2. On 1 July 1967, during the Wimbledon Championships , BBC2 became the first channel in Europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour, using the PAL system. The thirteen-part series Civilisation (1969) was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology. BBC1 and ITV later joined BBC2 on 625-line UHF band but continued to simulcast on 405-line VHF until 1985. BBC1 and ITV simultaneously introduced PAL colour on UHF on 15 November 1969, although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour "unofficially" since September 1969. In 1979,
9975-510: Was originally a grass airfield within No. 4 Group RAF . In the early 1940s the airfield was entirely reconstructed with three hardened runways replacing the grass. It re-opened in October 1942 as a station for 77 Squadron RAF and along with RAF Melbourne and RAF Pocklington was known as "No. 42 Base". The squadron had a strength of approximately 20 aircraft and initially used the twin engined Armstrong Whitworth Whitley medium bomber although this
10080-586: Was quickly replaced by the Handley Page Halifax four engined heavy bomber which was being introduced. No. 77 Squadron suffered heavy losses during its time at Elvington with over 500 aircrew killed, missing or taken prisoner and almost 80 Halifaxes lost as it played a major part in the Battle of the Ruhr and the bombing of Berlin . In May 1944 No. 77 Squadron posted to the newly opened nearby RAF Full Sutton and
10185-413: Was racing again on the anniversary of the crash at the same track and on the same (rebuilt) bike. On the afternoon of 1 October 2020, Eisenberg died in a collision whilst attempting to set a British land speed record. In 2019 Guy Martin set a new speed record for driving a tractor at the site. In a series of runs in a JCB Fastrac Two he averaged 135.191 miles per hour (217.569 km/h) and reached
10290-413: Was recovering in hospital, Clarkson sent a funny message to Mindy, Hammond's wife, every day to try to keep her going. Hammond thought if everyone found out, Clarkson would "die of shame" "cos it makes him look soppy". The Health & Safety Executive report stated that "Hammond's instantaneous reaction to the tyre blow-out seems to have been that of a competent high performance car driver, namely to brake
10395-564: Was replaced at Elvington by two French squadrons, numbers 346 "Guyenne" and 347 "Tunisie" who both played a leading part in the bombing of Germany. Elvington was the only airfield in the United Kingdom used by the remainder of the Free French Forces , they also flew Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers until they moved to Bordeaux in October 1945 where they became the basis for the new air force of liberated France. In September 1957
10500-467: Was reported that the programme Victoria Derbyshire would end, owing to the BBC's £80m cuts. Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic , Victoria Derbyshire has been presenting the first hour of BBC News, which continues until 13:00. BBC Two is also known for broadcasting some BBC One programmes in a change to the schedules when that channel is broadcasting a BBC News Special. For example; during
10605-471: Was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964, showing an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts , a performance from Soviet comedian Arkady Raikin , and a production of Cole Porter 's Kiss Me, Kate , culminating with a fireworks display. However, at around 18:45 a huge power failure, originating from a fire at Battersea Power Station , caused Television Centre , and indeed much of west London, to lose all power. BBC1
10710-638: Was shown before Victoria Derbyshire 8:00am-9:00 am including See Hear on Wednesday morning. BBC Two is also known for broadcasting some news and current affairs programmes. It broadcasts BBC News updates every morning at 9 am, simulcasting the BBC News channel after it stops simulcasting BBC Breakfast on BBC1. This includes an edition of BBC Business Today at 11:30 and Sportsday at 11:45, then fifteen minutes of BBC News Now , this had previously been between 2006-2010 an edition of World News Today and 2010-2011 GMT . At 12:15 pm during
10815-416: Was the first episode of the new series, which had been postponed pending Hammond's recovery. Hammond requested at the end of the episode that his fellow presenters never mention the crash again, a request which has been generally observed, although occasional oblique references have been made by all three presenters. On The Edge: My Story , which contains first-hand accounts from both Hammond and his wife about
10920-399: Was theoretically capable of travelling at speeds of up to 370 mph (595 km/h) . The vehicle was the same car that in 2000, piloted by Colin Fallows, set the British land speed record at 300.3 mph (483.3 km/h) . The Vampire was powered by a single Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus afterburning turbojet engine producing 5,000 lbf (22 kN) of thrust. Some accounts suggested that
11025-442: Was unaffected, they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on BBC2 that evening, beginning with an announcement by the newsreader Gerald Priestland at around 19:25. There was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin, but a videotape was discovered in early 2003. By 11:00 on 21 April 1964, power had been restored to the studios and programming began, thus making Play School the first programme to be shown officially on
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