Richard Hammond has suggested that there may no longer be a public “appetite” for Top Gear , if he, Jeremy Clarkson and James May were launching the show today.

The presenter, who co-hosted the hit BBC motoring series between 2002 and 2015, suggesting that Top Gear ’s popularity at the time had been driven by an impermanent interest in the show’s core formula.

In an interview with The Telegraph , Hammond attributed much of his initial success in television to luck and fortunate timing.

“There was an appetite for that at the time,” Hammond said. “And you get appetites with TV.…