Former Top Gear host Richard Hammond has admitted that he may be going through a mid-life crisis, but has said that he's doing the total opposite of many men.
Instead of splashing out on brand-new luxury sports cars and living a lavish lifestyle, the petrol head has announced that he has stripped back and sold most of his prized motors.
Despite being acclaimed for his love of sleek four wheelers, Richard told of how he is now driving a heavier duty pick-up truck - reports The Mirror.
Read more: Freddie Flintoff crash: Top Gear presenter breaks silence after 124mph car stunt goes wrong
According to Wales Online, he said: “Am I having a mid-life crisis? The archetypal, stereotypical thing is buying a sports car and I’ve got rid of most of mine. I mostly drive a pick-up truck or Land Rover now. So I think, yeah, maybe I am. Men do – we evaluate things.”
Richard first began hosting Top Gear with fellow stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard May 20 years ago. But the trio are still working together after moving on to launch The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime in 2015.
Richard says that the three presenters, who are known for their argumentative style and controversial humour, still bicker.
“Oh God, we bicker,” said Richard. “But we never fall out because we still work together. If you think of anybody you’ve spent the last 20 years with, you’ll know how it works.
"If I talk about motorbikes it annoys Jeremy because he hates them.
"And if Jeremy and James talk about Second World War aeroplanes that annoys me because it’s not my subject. We know each other's buttons but we don’t press them very often.”
Richard's love of cars saw him involved in a catastrophic crash in 2006 during the filming of an episode of Top Gear. While driving a Vampire jet car at 288mph, a tyre on the vehicle blew and it was flipped upside down.
His crash helmet was dragged along the ground. He was then airlifted to hospital and was in a coma for two weeks.
He suffered injuries to his brain but made a full recovery.
However, 10 years later he was involved in another accident when his supercar crashed on a Swiss mountain and burst into flames. Since then he no longer throws himself into as many perilous stunts.
He said his wife Mindy, 56, and daughters Izzy, 21, and Willow, 18, have had enough worry.
Richard added: “Mindy never says no to my doing dangerous things because I’ve never asked her. I just wouldn’t do it now out of respect for her and the girls.
"I don’t want to risk taking myself out of their lives because we all have a lot of fun together and I wouldn’t want not to be there to fulfil that role.”
His latest show, Richard Hammond's Crazy Contraptions, is far less dangerous. The Channel 4 gameshow pits teams of engineers against each other to make machines out of everyday objects such as books, string and loo rolls.
The show appealed to Richard as he claims to have attempted to make his own inventions, including a Wallace and Gromit-style device that would make him breakfast at the pull of a level. The device did not work.
“I have tried inventions before and they’ve never worked," he said. “So when Channel 4 rang and asked if I wanted to present the show on more or less the same subject I said ‘Yes please’.”
The series challenges contestants to make crazy machines to do mundane tasks such as making beds, feeding dogs or running a baths.
Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions starts tomorrow night (Friday, April 29) at 8pm, Channel 4.
Will you be tuning in to the TV host's latest show? Let us know in the comments section.
