Richard Hammond, best known for his work with James May and Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, made the revelation on a recent episode of his podcast
Richard Hammond has admitted that he feels “bad” about the way he has treated his long-time TV motoring co-star James May in the past.
The former Top Gear star revealed this during a July episode of the Who We Are Now podcast, where he and his daughter Izzy discussed OCD with anxiety therapist Josh Fletcher.
Richard, who has worked alongside fellow motoring hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May for more than two decades, confessed that he had previously been “making light” of the condition.
Richard recalled: “I’m thinking back to, you know, days on those TV shows that I’ve done with m’dear colleagues, Top Gear and Grand Tour, and James…
“We used to… and I’m feeling bad about it talking to you now, Josh, because I’m thinking, ‘Wait a minute – we were part of that’ – making light of what is, for some people, a really, really serious condition. We used to hit James with it all the time.”
He went on to say: “If you stand next to James and this watch that I’m wearing has a bezel on it; you know, a bit around the edge. And if I put it so it doesn’t line up straight, and he and I used to sit (we had a lot of time to sit in cars being bored).
“And I deliberately set it like that. The only thing is I’ve set it out of kilter now, and it’s slightly annoying me, but I can then straighten it up and I’m happy, so that isn’t OCD, is it, because it hasn’t triggered any…? I’m not left unhappy.”
According to the NHS website, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
In May, it was revealed that James May had hinted that his work with Jeremy Clarkson may be coming to an end, as the presenter felt that viewers had little interest in watching the co-hosts work on anything away from the world of motoring.
He told Unilad at the time that viewers “would only really” like to watch the trio “doing cars” despite suggestions that they should “go off and do cooking” or a “podcast about nothing”.
It has been disclosed that The Grand Tour will be coming to an end this year, with Jeremy, Richard and James set to land £6million each for the finale, a share of £24million, according to reports.
It would appear that the trio continue to be on amicable terms, however, as the three of them were spotted enjoying a pint in the sun earlier this year.
In an Instagram post, Jeremy said he was in a “time warp” and said in January that he could no longer participate in the Grand Tour as he was “fat and old”. He has mostly been focusing on his other show, Clarkson’s Farm, in recent years.
Richard and Jeremy started hosting Top Gear in 2002 before James joined them from 2003 to 2015.
They eventually left the BBC and hosted The Grand Tour from 2016.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
