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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| BBC airs Top Gear crash footage | BBC airs Top Gear crash footage |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Footage of the crash that left TV presenter Richard Hammond fighting for his life has been aired for the first time as BBC Two's Top Gear returns. | Footage of the crash that left TV presenter Richard Hammond fighting for his life has been aired for the first time as BBC Two's Top Gear returns. |
| Hammond, 37, left hospital just five weeks after his jet-powered car came off a runway near York at 280mph. | Hammond, 37, left hospital just five weeks after his jet-powered car came off a runway near York at 280mph. |
| He received a hero's welcome as he returned to the TV show on Sunday. | He received a hero's welcome as he returned to the TV show on Sunday. |
| He said experts who analysed footage of the crash said he had displayed the reactions of a fighter pilot. | He said experts who analysed footage of the crash said he had displayed the reactions of a fighter pilot. |
| Hammond suffered serious brain injuries in the crash at Elvington airfield after a tyre burst on the Vampire jet car causing it to skid and flip over. | Hammond suffered serious brain injuries in the crash at Elvington airfield after a tyre burst on the Vampire jet car causing it to skid and flip over. |
| The father-of-two, who has no memory of the crash, watched alongside Top Gear co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May. | The father-of-two, who has no memory of the crash, watched alongside Top Gear co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May. |
| Hammond surprised doctors with his 'remarkable' recovery | Hammond surprised doctors with his 'remarkable' recovery |
| Asked why he had attempted a final run in the car after having already reached speeds of 314mph, Hammond said: " I suppose it's like when you were playing outside as a kid and then your mum called you in for dinner. You'd always stay out for a bit longer..." | Asked why he had attempted a final run in the car after having already reached speeds of 314mph, Hammond said: " I suppose it's like when you were playing outside as a kid and then your mum called you in for dinner. You'd always stay out for a bit longer..." |
| "And that's when you'd fall out the tree," Clarkson remarked. | "And that's when you'd fall out the tree," Clarkson remarked. |
| "As it happens, yes," Hammond said. | "As it happens, yes," Hammond said. |
| Assuring viewers he had not suffered long-term brain damage, he joked: "The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is I like celery now." | Assuring viewers he had not suffered long-term brain damage, he joked: "The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is I like celery now." |
| "I am fixed. I am completely fixed and normal," he said. | "I am fixed. I am completely fixed and normal," he said. |
| He went on to thank the staff in hospitals in Leeds and Bristol, who helped him "when I was being stuck back together", and the many members of the public who wrote to him while he was recovering. | He went on to thank the staff in hospitals in Leeds and Bristol, who helped him "when I was being stuck back together", and the many members of the public who wrote to him while he was recovering. |
| Investigators have yet to give their verdict on the safety precautions taken by the programme. | Investigators have yet to give their verdict on the safety precautions taken by the programme. |