Richard Hammond: Top Gear host talks struggles with birthday gift after turning 50

Richard Hammond spoke candidly about a treasured item he received after The Grand Tour presenter celebrated a recent milestone. The former Top Gear host, who is now 51, expressed his delight at being gifted a camera but the dad-of-two has struggled to get any use of it.

Speaking in a new interview, Richard dished on his birthday present and explained he may be able to put it to some good use soon.

The small-screen star, who is fronting Amazon series The Great Escapists, revealed a friend gave him a top of the range camera.

But there was a minor issue with the gadget, as the TV host confessed he was unsure how it worked.

“A photographer friend bought me a camera for my 50th birthday and it’s notoriously difficult to use,” Richard explained. “I’ve spent hours trying to work it out.”

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“It’s really refreshing when somebody has the faith and confidence to let us just get on with it,” Richard told Express.co.uk.

“In 30 years of broadcasting, it’s been the most exciting journey I’ve ever been on because from day one I looked around and thought, ‘Everyone around me is good at their job, and that’s why they’re here’.”

This time around, Richard has tried to stay out of trouble as he recently revealed his wife cheekily issued him with an ultimatum.

It comes after the presenter unknowingly took a dip into shark-infested waters while filming his new show.

The TV personality admitted he “panicked” once he realised he was in the water.

Richard’s wife Mindy previously warned him after the TV star suffered two car accidents while filming Top Gear and The Grand Tour.

Asked whether he committed his third strike in a new interview, Richard explained: “Hmm, well yeah, sort of. But Mindy knows I’m not an idiot. I don’t look for trouble.”

He continued to The Times: “That raft was about to explode and I jumped into the water in good faith.

“Then I saw the silhouette of a shark and panicked. Luckily it turned out to be a whale shark.”

source: express.co.uk