Richard Hammond and his Grand Tour co-stars Jeremy Clarkson and James May have bid farewell to the Amazon Prime series after filming their final episode, which is set to hit screens soon.
It was confirmed earlier this year that the popular trio – who also fronted BBC’s Top Gear from 2003 to 2015 – would be stepping away from the car show, although it was recently announced the programme will continue without the iconic group at the helm.
The three have worked together for decades, so the wrapping up of their final adventure together will mark the end of an era.
Clarkson, 64, is now occupied with his farming series Clarkson’s Farm, May has his own gin company and pub to run, and Hammond stars in his own show about his workshop.
When asked if there were any tears over the trio’s work commitments ending, Hammond, 54, admitted he likes “a good cry” as he confirmed he did indeed get emotional.
“From me, certainly,” he responded, adding: “James isn’t one of nature’s big criers. I like a good cry.”
He also pointed out how, despite the final instalment marking an emotional change for the three men, the episode remained true to the rest of the show that came before it by packing in plenty of humorous moments.
“It was very important to us that the film was us saying ‘goodbye’ as us, the people that you’ve been watching over the years,” Hammond detailed.
“It wouldn’t be right to suddenly reveal ourselves to be something else completely; that would feel like a betrayal.
“We’ve always been exactly as you see us on TV. We’re possibly exaggerated into slight extensions of ourselves, slight caricatures, but we are what you see.
“The thing I will really miss at the heart of it is the experiences like the many times we’ve sat at borders between countries.
“You’re queuing up in the dust and you can be sitting there for easily six hours with 50 or 60 trucks, and watching the crew entertain themselves is brilliant,” the presenter continued.
Reflecting on the poignancy of the show ending, he added: “They’re throwing stones at a can or annoying and winding each other up, and I’m never going to get those moments back.”
In their final Grand Tour adventure, Clarkson, Hammond and May head to Zimbabwe in three cars they’ve always wanted to own: a Lancia Montecarlo, a Ford Capri 3-litre and a Triumph Stag, for a stunning road trip through beautiful and sometimes challenging landscapes leading to an emotional ending.
Part of the show’s synopsis teases: “Despite their best efforts to make this last outing a relaxing and agreeable meander between extremely pleasant hotels, the three can’t avoid some typical road trip challenges, starting with the need to take care of the terrible back-up car dispatched at short notice by a disgruntled Mr Wilman.
“Beyond that, their patience is tested by brutally rough terrain, mechanically misbehaving cars, moments of map reading incompetence and the terrifying prospect of crashing, drowning or breaking a nail on the complicated retractable roof of Jeremy’s Lancia.
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“If that wasn’t enough to get their ageing hearts racing, a brush with unsmiling customs officers also makes them regret the decision to enhance their cars with locally-mined, bargain-priced silver.
“After arriving at the fabulous Victoria Falls, the trio decide to dodge some car-breaking local roads with an ingenious detour down a railway line and soon find themselves on familiar ground, crossing the border into Botswana.”
