Richard Hammond has revealed the extent of his and his family's financial worries after he left the BBC and Top Gear in 2015. The TV presenter, 53, was left with no income after a shock exit from the show after co-star Jeremy Clarkson was suspended and then axed for an "unprovoked physical attack" on producer Oisin Tymon.
With no finances coming in, Hammond was left worrying over being able to afford private school tuition for his two daughters and his private castle home, reports the Mirror. He wasn't the only one worried, as daughter Izzy also feared the family couldn't afford the basics and even a KFC takeaway.
In the Fuelling Around podcast, Hammond explained: "After we finished the show James had come over to stay with me for a few days. We'd gone to Kentucky Fried Chicken to get lunch for everyone with Izzy. "We got to the front of the queue, put our order in, and James typically said: 'Oh, oh, I'll pay Hammond' and I said 'no, no mate, I'll pay' and he said 'no, no, no I'll pay'.
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"And there was a pause, just when the whole restaurant had gone quiet, and Izzy said: 'Well technically lads, I should pay as you haven't got a job between you'. And the place detonated with laughter."
He added: "She obviously then thought 'this is the best game'. So subsequently, at the end of the queue in Morrisons, as I was waiting to pay she would say very loudly: 'Daddy, daddy, so when does your credit card stop working?' and I'd go 'Oh, for God's sake,' and again a whole store of people were in hysterics."
Financial worries could be set to rear their head again for Hammond. He, alongside May and Clarkson, are facing uncertainty around their programme The Grand Tour, on Amazon Prime.
The worries come as rumours circulate that Amazon Prime is severing ties with Clarkson following the outrage and scandal after his column in The Sun made comments about Meghan Markle.
Variety reported shows currently in the works are set to go ahead, but Clarkson will not be renewed for any future programmes past 2024 and his other series, Clarkson's Farm, will end with series three next year.
If The Grand Tour is stopped, it could hit Hammond hard, as he has reportedly been ploughing money into his classic car restoration business the Smallest Cog.
Co-star James May has already admitted to finding the current scandal and uncertainty 'difficult'.
Hammond explained how he found it last time Jeremy Clarkson saw their TV future in jeopardy when the trio left Top Gear: "The end of Top Gear was tough, it was the end of an era and we knew we had to stick together.
"I was there, I'm on record as saying this, I was there and it wasn’t a proud moment for anybody. But Jeremy wasn't fired, they didn't renew his contract for the next year."
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