Richard Hammond makes rare comment about divorce in new Grand Tour special
Richard Hammond has made a rare reference to his divorce from Amanda Etheridge in a brand new special for The Grand Tour.
TV presenter and former Top Gear star Hammond, 55, married Etheridge, 59, in 2002, when the couple were aged 33 and 37 respectively.
The pair confirmed their divorce earlier this year, saying in a statement that they'd had an 'incredible 28 years together' and were 'proud of the family' that they'd created.
Now, in a brand new Amazon Prime special for The Grand Tour, titled The Not Very Grand Tour, Hammond has addressed their split.
In the new special looking back over the show's best bits, the 55-year-old narrates and introduces portions of the episode.
'In the 1800s, the average American travelled 50 metres a day. Now, the average person travels 50 kilometres a day, and some cover a lot more,' he said at one point.
'If we travel more, we see more, we learn more. And we don't have to marry whoever lives next door, which is my case,' he quipped, which appears to have been in reference to his split.
Hammond then faced the camera with a pained expression, as James May interjected with: 'Anyway!'
As for the special itself, fans have admitted to feeling 'insulted' after the first episode was made available for them to stream on Friday night.
Hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Hammond, the motoring series first began in November 2016, with 46 episodes released across eight years.
The main series came to an end in 2019, with the last groups of episodes – in 2019, 2022, and 2024 – operating as brief 'road trip specials'.
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The Grand Tour became a beloved escape for Top Gear fans after Clarkson, 65, May, 62 and Hammond departed the BBC programme in 2015.
So news of brand new episodes came as a delight for those who were now mourning their loss of both Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
The four new episodes – the first of which was made available on Good Friday – were given a separate subtitle of The Not Very Grand Tour.
It appears that the four new episodes will contain very little in the way of new content, with one fan describing it as not much more than a 'greatest hits' compilation.
So far only Hammond and May have returned to narrate the clips – with Clarkson absent from the first episode.
Amazon Prime Video made no secret of what the new specials would entail, outlining: 'Four special episodes of The Grand Tour are coming to Prime Video, looking back at the best moments of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May's adventures.'
Nonetheless, that hasn't stopped some fans from sharing their complaints about the episodes not featuring any new content… although others jumped to its defence.
On Reddit, PetatoParmer said: 'It feels almost insulting that this is what we're getting. With the hours upon hours of footage shot for the Grand Tour they could have done something really great and done some fantastic new behind the scenes stuff. Did you enjoy the first of The Grand Tour specials?
'All we're getting is reheated clips with a two minute introduction from two thirds of the team. Frankly it's just not good enough,' they added.
ConsistencyWelder commented: 'So it'll just be rehashing of the old material. Not gonna be interested as I already watched the episodes. At least once.'
TheGr8Mike referred to the first special episode as a 'rare miss' for the beloved presenting trio, who hosted Top Gear for just over 12 years together.
However, some fans were far more forgiving and enjoyed the new episodes, with one calling Prime Video's latest offering a 'trip down memory lane'.
Matchsword said, 'I'll take whatever they're throwing out there [because] a trip down memory lane with the boys ain't all that bad,' while others were willing to give the new specials a chance.
The new episodes have come just a few weeks after May said there is unlikely to be any big reunion for the trio in the foreseeable future. More Trending
'There isn't going to be a reunion,' he told ABC News Breakfast. 'It's a cliché to say [it's the] end of an era and all that sort of stuff, but it was.'
After more than two decades working together, May admitted that they realised it was 'probably time to stop' as they wanted to 'land it with dignity and not fly into the cliffs'.
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Watch The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video.
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