TV preview: Wild Weather with Richard Hammond

Indeed, even standing in the middle of a tornado in the upcoming series Wild Weather, the presenter can barely contain his excitement. “It’s the most astonishing feeling, it’s dizzying,” says Hammond from inside the simulated twister. “The world is roaring past and spinning around me, but I’m still!”

Similarly, when donning heavy duty clothing before venturing outdoors in the place said to have the worst weather in the world (Mount Washington in New Hampshire), he cheerfully dons his goggles and explains: “Your eyeballs can freeze, and any exposed skin, you’ll have frostbite on it within two or three minutes”.

During the three-parter he also creates a 30ft high whirlwind made of fire, detonates an avalanche and builds an enormous dust cloud.

But then, such daredevil antics are nothing new for the Solihull-born star, who sustained a serious brain injury in September 2006, when the jet-powered dragster he was driving for Top Gear crashed at Elvington Airfield, near York.

He was back on the motoring show the following January, and reckons work probably helped his recovery. Since joining the award-winning car show for its relaunch in 2002, Hammond has spent much of his working life on the road – which makes the time he spends at home in Herefordshire (in a house nicknamed “Hamelot”), with wife Mindy and daughters Izzy and Willow, all the more precious.

Even if it means settling down to watch all the “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Dancing Out of the House type things”.

He adds: “The thing is, I travel so much that when I get home, I want to spend time with the girls. Unfortunately, they want to spend time watching things I wouldn’t choose to watch.

“I’ve perfected the art of sitting in the room on the sofa but staring at the wall above the fireplace instead of the television...”

Surprisingly, given the rather laddish show he co-hosts, he doesn’t enjoy watching much sport. “Though my eldest daughter likes watching football,” he says. “She’s a very avid hockey player and she likes watching it for the tactics and strategies. I’ll sit and watch football with her and pretend to be massively enthusiastic.”

Hammond is much more keen on cosy Downton Abbey. “I can embrace early middle-age, I’m 44, it’s time I watch things like Downton, so I do,” he declares. “My wife and I sit there and then it finishes and we both just stare at the screen waiting for the next week. But now the series has finished... Oh God! It’s not very cool, but there you go.”

Hammond comes across as a highly agreeable, easygoing sort. But how on earth does he cope with Clarkson on those epic road trips? “By being in a different car, that helps. Switching my radio off, so he can’t talk to me. Ignoring my telephone. These are the coping mechanisms that we’ve both devised.

“To be fair, we have a laugh, actually,” he adds. “But yes – it’s awful!”

Wild Weather with Richard Hammond, BBC 1, Monday, 9pm