Richard Hammond has said he "didn't have any choice" but to walk away from The Grand Tour, revealing he would happily have carried on alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May had his co-hosts wanted to continue.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Hammond explained that the trio's decision to stop filming in 2024 was a shared one, though his own instinct was to keep going.
"If the others had said let's carry on, I'd have carried on," Hammond said. "This time I didn't have any choice. I'd have carried on 'cause I would... If they were ready to stop, we had to stop."
He added: "There was no question. We all four had to be there to do it, so I was ready to stop because the others were. But equally, if the others had said let's carry on I'd have carried on."
Hammond was clear that his willingness to continue was about wanting to protect the group dynamic built up over a quarter of a century.
"That's not because I'm easily swayed, it's because I wanted us to still be in that place," he said. "It's quite a complicated four-way relationship, a 25-year career together like that. And if we weren't all in that place of wanting to do it, then... I wouldn't want to do it. Because it wouldn't work. Couldn't do it."
The three presenters and longtime producer Andy Wilman left the BBC in 2015 after Clarkson's contract was not renewed before launching The Grand Tour on Prime Video in 2016.
That show ran until 2024, when the trio called time on their motoring partnership. The Grand Tour has since been rebooted on the streamer, with train enthusiast and social-media personality Francis Bourgeois joining Throttle House YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman as the new presenting line-up.
View Green Video on the source websiteThe new trio have been candid about the pressure of following three such familiar faces. Bourgeois told Radio Times they wanted to "honour the comfort that people know from the format" while bringing their own identities, humour and car tastes, with Engelsman adding that the aim was to "play the same notes that the audience wants to hear and see" but give the show "our own flavour".
Holland admitted his first reaction to the offer was that "only a moron would take that job", but said the new hosts were reassured after meeting Clarkson, Hammond and May. He recalled May's advice in particular: "It's your thing now. Do your thing. Just don't listen to me".
Clarkson, Hammond and May all made cameo appearances in the new run, and Clarkson gave his endorsement to the incoming hosts after watching their work.
The Grand Tour is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. You can sign up to Amazon Prime Video for a 30-day free trial.
Add The Grand Tour to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more TV recommendations and reviews listen to The Radio Times Podcast.