Richard Hammond tells us more about the things our eyes cannot see in Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds - as well as revealing some of his fears…

For the show's opening sequence you had to stand on top of a tall building. Was that nerve-racking?
It took quite a long time because the director was calling for us to film it again and again and my right knee just started wobbling and wouldn't stop. I tried to lock it out backwards but my leg was still moving and I thought I could fall over. I had to stand down at that point and start again!

Have you ever experienced a fear of heights before?
I was never even remotely scared of heights until my first daughter, Izzy, was born nine years ago, and I suddenly became a great, wimpering coward. A week afterwards I was filming somewhere and had to stand on some pilings by a river. And suddenly my fear of heights arrived for the first time in my life. I used to rock climb a lot and was never remotely bothered by it.

What else can you tell us about Richard Hammond's Invisible World?
We cover space and a new generation of telescopes that are seeing the origins of our galaxy, and finding super massive black holes. I'm very interested in natural history, which is also a huge part of it. But hopefully, at no point does it leave you thinking that you don't understand what's going on. I think I'm a barometer really - if I sit down to do the voiceover and think that I understand it, then anybody will.

So it should appeal to everyone?
I'd watch it. I'm not setting out to be the next great scientist. I'm just saying this is interesting stuff. Have a look, then talk about it in the pub or over tea afterwards.

Were you a science geek at school?
I loved science at school, but then I reached 11 or 12 and realised I also loved writing and painting and thought I couldn't possibly love both. So I excluded myself from science as a result, which was a real heartbreak.
 
You're very busy with several projects on the go. Is it nice getting back with Jeremy Clarkson and James May again to film Top Gear?
Of course. I've done this job for 20 years — goodness, I'm old! We're a gang on that show, and it's a different way of working. It's great fun when we all go back and talk about what we did in our holidays. Like being at school. It's great fun and I enjoy that.

Why do you like making very different types of programmes?
There's always the danger of being told that you're doing too much. And yes, I get bored of my little face sometimes. But hopefully the one quality common to all of the programmes I work on, is that they have an integrity and are true to their type. Blast Lab is educational, informative and amusing. It's a proper factual show. The stars of it are the facts not me. You could take me out and put someone else in. Equally, Total Wipeout is about people falling over. It's an entertainment programme. It's not going to change the world. It's just funny.

Do you get much of a chance to relax at home?
I live in a very busy household! By the time I get home, a new dog's arrived or some swans have decided to stay in our little pond. And my girls (Izzy, nine and six-year-old Willow) are always busy. There's always some piece of music to listen to, or Willow is reading or doing jumps on her new pony. Very occasionally I get to look at one of my cars and play with that, which isn't very often. I wouldn't be very popular if I said, 'No, I'm going to go and play on my motorcycle instead.'

Is there anything else you'd like to explore in a TV show?
The rest of this year is Top Gear and then more Total Wipeout. I try to be very careful not to be too busy because I want to go home and see my wife and daughters. I'm very lucky to have all this work, but I'm very lucky to have a lovely family that I like to be with. But I do love talking about the natural world and there are an awful lot of things to know, so maybe I'll go off in that direction. I'm a very, very lucky boy to be in a position like that when only 15 years ago, I'd cycle to work with my bag of records, do my radio programme and cycle home and work out if I could stretch my credit card to buy a Kit Kat.

By Elaine Penn