Richard Hammond has joined James May in confirming he will not be returning to BBC2’s Top Gear following the axing of Jeremy Clarkson and the departure of its executive producer, Andy Wilman.
It will mean the BBC2 show will have an entirely new presenting team and senior backroom staff when it returns in a new incarnation next year.
Hammond hopes to continue to work for the BBC and is understood to have a number of BBC1 projects in the pipeline.
Hammond said on Twitter: “To be clear amidst all this talk of us ‘quitting’ or not: there’s nothing for me to ‘quit’. Not about to quit my mates anyway.”
To be clear amidst all this talk of us 'quitting' or not: there's nothing for me to 'quit'. Not about to quit my mates anyway.
— Richard Hammond (@RichardHammond) April 24, 2015
All three Top Gear presenters, along with Wilman, were pictured leaving Clarkson’s west London home on Thursday.
It is understood they discussed what they would do next, with US on-demand service Netflix the favourite to sign them, although they could also go to a UK broadcaster, with ITV the most likely destination.
A source close to Hammond said: “The fact of the matter is Richard’s contract has expired, and he’s very much part of the discussions with the others as to what’s next for the three of them.
“Anything more than that at this stage is speculation. Away from Top Gear, Richard will continue to discuss future collaborations with the BBC.”
Wilman, who was responsible with Clarkson for reinventing Top Gear in 2002, used a column in Top Gear magazine to criticise BBC “meddling” in the show and described Clarkson as an “editorial genius” and his axing by the corporation as a “tragedy”.
Outside of Top Gear, Hammond’s other BBC shows have included Wild Weather and Invisible Worlds, both on BBC1. He also fronted BBC1’s Saturday teatime gameshow, Total Wipeout.
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