Richard Hammond

Affectionately known as Hamster, Richard Hammond is one of the U.K.'s most popular broadcasters. He began his career at BBC local radio and first graced British TV screens on the cable channel Men & Motors. He proceeded to work on a number of different motoring and lifestyle programs on cable before realizing his dream of cohosting "Top Gear" in 2002. In September 2006, Richard hit the news headlines when he was involved in a serious accident crashing a jet-powered car while filming "Top Gear." Hammond recovered and returned the following year for the first show of the next season.

A versatile presenter, Richard has hosted TV shows from a variety of genres, including science and nature, children's and sci-fi. Women the world over adore him, something about his puppy dog eyes, and wanting to protect him from the nasty Mr. Clarkson. Richard's hobbies include buying hopeless cars and attempting to restore them.