Richard Hammond’s daughter Izzy has revealed how the presenter’s horror 320mph crash “changed her brain” during a rare TV appearance.
The former Top Gear presenter, 54, was left in a coma for two weeks in 2006 after the car he was driving spun out of control at Elvington airfield in York.
One of the dragster’s tires exploded causing the accident, tipping it upside down and leaving Richard with serious head injuries.
He suffered a “frontal lobe bleed”, which caused memory loss, depression and difficulties with emotional experiences following the accident.
Discussing how Richard’s accident inspired their new father-daughter podcast, Who We Are Now, they then opened up about their emotional state and mental health.
Richard Hammond’s daughter Izzy, 22, has revealed how the presenter’s horror 320mph crash “changed her brain” during a rare TV appearance.
The former Top Gear presenter almost died filming a stunt in a Vampire jet at Elvington airfield in York in 2006 and the accident inspired his new podcast, Who We Are Now.
Richard began: ‘Because I had such a public brain injury, I wanted to do the podcast and address it. “I felt like I had permission to do it.”
Izzy added: “We spent a lot of time talking about his brain because we had to be aware of how he behaves and feels.
‘We agree on a lot more things than we disagree on the podcast, so a lot of mental health is universal. Men and women should not be pigeonholed.
“All groups must be in good condition for society to function,” the television personality added.
Richard presented Top Gear from 2002 to 2015 alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
The trio then went on to host 2016’s Amazon Prime Video’s The Grand Tour.
Recalling her childhood, Izzy said: “He was pretty far away when I was younger.” There were a lot of opportunities for him that he had to do. Then when he was home, he would play dumb.
“Because a lot of it was dangerous, my parents didn’t talk about it, whereas now that I’m older I understand what that job was.”
One of the dragster’s tires exploded causing the accident, tipping it upside down and leaving Richard with serious head injuries (pictured is the scene of Richard’s accident in 2006).
He suffered a “frontal lobe bleed”, which caused memory loss, depression and difficulties with emotional experience (pictured, being transported by Yorkshire Air Ambulance afterwards)
Discussing how Richard’s accident inspired their new father-daughter podcast, Who We Are Now, they then opened up about their emotional state and mental health.
Richard explained that he was never sure when his last job would be, so he spent a lot of time away from home while working.
After his accident, Richard recovered and returned to the show in early 2007, but revealed in February this year that he fears losing his memory as a result.
He said he still suffers from the after-effects of his brain injuries caused by the extreme slowing of speed that caused his brain to “jump” forward, causing a “frontal lobe bleed.”
In 2017, Hammond was involved in a second accident and was airlifted to a hospital in Switzerland while filming Amazon’s The Grand Tour.
The accident took place in the town of St Gallen, in northeastern Switzerland. Richard had to be pulled from the wreckage of a £2million Rimac supercar which then burst into flames.
