Richard Hammond

Born in Birmingham in 1970, Richard Hammond studied photography and television production before beginning his broadcasting career at BBC Radio York.

From there, Richard went on to work at BBC Radio Cumbria, Leeds and Lancashire, before leaving in 1995 to follow his dream of working in motoring. His ultimate ambition was always to present motoring programmes on TV. After leaving the BBC, he initially took a job in PR and was involved in corporate events for clients including the Ferrari Owners´ Club and Renault Sport. But it was not until 1998 that he was given his first motoring job on TV, presenting Motorweek on Satellite channel Men & Motors.

He then proceeded to work on a number of different motoring and lifestyle programmes for cable and satellite channels before realising his dream of presenting Top Gear in 2002. Hammond says that BBC Two´s Top Gear, the show which has made him a household name, is "the show you aspire to present".