Richard Hammond

Jeremy Clarkson may have the cutting wit, but Richard Hammond's got the looks. After all, he once came top in a gossip mag's poll of 'weird celebrity crushes', which is probably the best dubious complement anyone's ever been paid.

Richard Hammond was born in 1970 and grew up in the Yorkshire town of Ripon, where he attended the incredibly old and prestigious Ripon Grammar School - a place so bloated with history that it was actually founded twice (once in Saxon times, and all over again in 1555). Which probably explains why Hammond speaks so well and stuff.

Determined to somehow work in motoring, Hammond decided to learn the dark arts of public relations, and help organise car-related corporate events for clients like the Ferrari Owners' Club. It was during this period that he met his beloved wife ("She loves cars more than I do, she's bonkers") and, in 1998, Hammond was finally picked up to present his first car show on TV.

It was on the Men And Motors cable channel, so the only people who saw it were the cameramen. And maybe their mums. But it was the first important step on the road to Top Gear.

To be picked to front Top Gear was Hammond's greatest dream, but it almost ended tragically when, in September 2006, he was involved in a terrible crash while piloting the jet-powered Vampire dragster. The cause was a tire blowout, and he was travelling at almost 300mph when the car flipped over. As he later put it, "There was a sense of - oh bugger."

Still, he has his Hamster-like qualities to thank for his survival - if he'd been any taller, his head would have connected with the ground and the crash would have been fatal. Instead, Hammond recovered with startling swiftness, and credits a certain children's toy with his quick comeback. "Lego saved my life," he said. "I was a Lego fiend when I was eight and suddenly it was all I wanted to do again. It's really good therapy."