Richard Hammond’s daughter, Izzy, has labelled her dad an ‘idiot’ when reflecting on the perilous nature of his career.
The television presenter is known for his high-risk stunts and has been involved in numerous accidents while presenting Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
Notably, in 2006, he suffered a severe brain injury from a car crash during filming for Top Gear, which left him comatose in intensive care for weeks.
His wife Mindy, whom he has recently separated from, was steadfastly by his side throughout this ordeal, the Mirror reports.
Richard has previously mentioned that it was Mindy’s “screaming” at his bedside that helped rouse him from the coma. In a 2022 YouTube video, he reflected on the vivid “dream” he had while under heavy morphine towards the end of his coma, imagining himself walking in the Lake District.
Izzy also disclosed that her father was often absent during her upbringing due to his commitments to filming for Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Her comments came during an appearance on Ben Fowler’s podcast Road To Success, just days before the public learned of Richard and Mindy’s separation, where she responded to the question: “Would you call your dad a daredevil or an idiot? “
She divulged: “We’ve done handbrake turns around roundabouts, sorry I know that’s incredibly illegal you might have to cut that out. He’s an idiot.
“He has that thing that racing drivers have where they just don’t have the fear. Everyone has that line where it’s like ‘Okay I know where the line is’, he just doesn’t have that. He really genuinely would just go and go and go.”
Reflecting on past incidents, she recalled telling him after a high-speed crash in 2017: “You’re going to have to quit TV if you have another crash.”
In the revealing podcast discussion, Izzy commented on her father’s absence during her and her sister Willow’s upbringing: “I always think it must be frustrating for my mum because probably some of my happiest memories are ironically with my dad because he wasn’t there that much because he was filming.”
She added: “He wasn’t there a lot and that’s all I really knew growing up.”
This intimate family insight arises just as Richard and Mindy announced of their separation after 28 years of marriage, stating: “A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently.”
Continuing, they shared: “Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters. We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.
“We won’t be commenting further and sincerely hope that our privacy and that of our children will be respected at this time. With Love, Richard and Mindy.”
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