Right, I was sitting there watching the latest Clarkson’s Farm episodes with my mate Steve last weekend, and suddenly Hammond pops up on our screen. Steve almost spills his tea down the front of my sofa. “Is that the Hamster?’ he says. Sure enough, Richard Hammond is helping Jeremy with some mental project involving a tractor and his new pub.
Turns out, this little reunion cost Clarkson a pretty penny. Twenty grand, to be exact.
The Return Nobody Saw Coming
Clarkson’s Farm Richard Hammond’s payment story begins with Jeremy Clarkson’s new venture. So the man’s gone and bought himself a pub called The Farmer’s Dog. Not content with just serving pints and pies, he wants to hang a vintage tractor from the ceiling. Because that’s what you do when you’re Jeremy Clarkson, isn’t it?
Hammond appeared in the new episodes of Clarkson’s Farm after The Grand Tour concluded. The episodes dropped on May 30th, 2025, and it honestly felt like catching up with old friends after years apart.
My brother is in restoration, and when I told him about the tractor project, he just laughed. “Of course they’d try something mad like that,” he added.
The Twenty Grand Question
So what exactly did Hammond do to justify getting paid? The two made a wager that Hammond would chrome and brighten up a tractor for Clarkson’s new pub, The Farmer’s Dog, the bill coming in at “tens of thousands” of pounds. The project required suspending the tractor from the pub’s ceiling.
So, I’ve seen Hammond at work before on various car shows, and the bloke knows his stuff when it comes to making things shiny and functional. But twenty grand a quid for chroming up a tractor? That’s a lot of money for what seems to be a piece of metalwork.
Clarkson says he needs the tractor to be lightened to below 750kg or “it’ll pull the roof down” of the pub. Fair point, really. The last thing you want is a tractor crashing down on someone’s Sunday roast.
The Engineering Challenge
My cousin Dave (a mechanical engineer) says the weight reduction bit was likely the clever part. “Taking a tractor from whatever it weighs down to 750 kg and still keeping it together? That’s real engineering,” he said to me when I brought it up.
Hammond added, “If we take all the internals out, everything.” Basically, gutting the thing and rebuilding it as a display piece. That’s not just chroming; that’s a complete restoration job.
The Grand Tour Connection
This collaboration marked their first on-screen reunion since The Grand Tour ended in 2024. Made me proper nostalgic, that did. Those three were brilliant together, and seeing even two of them back on screen felt like old times.
My dad, who’s been watching Clarkson since the original Top Gear days, was chuffed to bits. “About time they got back together,” he said. “Even if it’s just for a tractor job.”
The timing worked out perfectly. Grand Tour wraps up, Clarkson’s knee-deep in farming and pub life, and Hammond’s available for a mad engineering project. Sometimes the stars align just right.
What This Means for Future Collaborations
Seeing Hammond on Clarkson’s Farm got everyone talking. Will we see more of the old gang popping up in future episodes? James May also appears in series 4, along with Piers Morgan, James Blunt, and Guy Ritchie, as Clarkson’s celebrity friends who advise him about purchasing The Windmill.
Feels like Jeremy’s assembling his old crew for this farming adventure. Can’t say I blame him. When you’re trying to run a farm, open pubs, and deal with council planning meetings, you need all the help you can get.
The Pub Business Reality
The Farmer’s Dog represents Clarkson’s latest attempt to diversify his farm business. After all the grief with the council over his restaurant plans, he’s found another way to serve food and drinks to visitors.
The Farmer’s Dog is Clarkson’s new pub, following a similar venture by James May. Seems like all three of them are branching out into hospitality. Wonder if Hammond’s planning his own place next.
My local pub landlord thinks it’s brilliant. “Good on him for trying something new,” he said. “Farming’s tough enough without relying on just crops and livestock.”
The Money Side of Things
Twenty thousand pounds sounds like a lot for a tractor restoration, but when you think about it, Hammond’s got serious skills and a reputation. Jeremy Clarkson had to pay Top Gear and The Grand Tour co-star Richard Hammond £20,000 during a TV reunion on Clarkson’s Farm.
That’s not only a payment for the work, however. It’s money that Hammond is due for his time, expertise and likely requirement to agree to appear on camera for the thing. Television appearances don’t come free, especially when you’re as recognisable as the Hamster.
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What Fans Are Saying
The online response has been mental. We all love to see Hammond with Clarkson, though, even if it’s for a tractor project. The comments section is jam-packed with readers demanding more Grand Tour reunions.
My car-addict nephew (obsessed with restoration shows) thinks it’s brilliant. “Hammond knows how to handle metal and chrome,” he added. “Twenty grand is probably fair for that kind of work.”
The Bigger Picture
This whole Clarkson’s Farm Richard Hammond payment story is very indicative of how these relationships operate in the television and entertainment industry. They may not be doing Grand Tour anymore, but they’re still mates who help each other out.
Jeremy wanted someone who could take on a challenging restoration project and look good doing it for TV. Hammond was looking for a nifty project and some money. Everybody wins, including those of us watching them collaborate once more.
Looking Forward
Could we expect more appearances from Hammond on Clarkson’s Farm? Hard to say. But if Jeremy just keeps landing mad projects for his farm and pub, and Hammond is in for any real engineering challenges, I wouldn’t be surprised.
The project was their first on-screen reunion since Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour concluded in 2024, but hopefully not the last. There’s just something brilliant about watching those two take on a completely bonkers project together.
Whether it’s worth twenty grand is between them, but as entertainment? It’s beyond priceless to see the old team back at work, even if all they’re doing is hanging tractors from pub ceilings.
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