Comedian Stewart Lee has launched an extraordinary attack on Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, saying he wishes he had been ‘decapitated’ in the high-speed crash that nearly cost him his life.

The 41-year-old comedian, star of BBC2’s critically acclaimed Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, accuses Hammond and his Top Gear colleagues of being ‘bullies’ and jokes about the car crash that left Hammond suffering brain damage.

Lee was at the same school as Hammond – he was two years ahead of the presenter – though the source of the animosity remains unclear.

Yesterday, neither of the BBC men were prepared to discuss their days at Solihull School, a £9,400-a-year public school in Birmingham, amid speculation that their shared school experience may have prompted Lee’s diatribe.

Hammond, 39, nicknamed ‘The Hamster’ by fans, suffered brain injuries three years ago while driving a jet-propelled Vampire dragster that flipped and crashed at about 280mph

He made a remarkable recovery after the crash, and has gone on to present other TV programmes, including BBC1’s Total Wipeout gameshow, and Brainiac on Sky1.

Lee spends 20 minutes telling audiences about his dislike of Hammond in his show If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he incorporates their schooldays into his routine.

During one show last week, Lee said: ‘I wish he had died in that crash and that he had been decapitated and that his head had rolled off in front of his wife and that a jagged piece of metal debris from the car had got stuck in his eye and blinded him.

‘And then his head had rolled on a few more yards into a pool of boiling oil and that his head had retained just enough neural capacity for him to be able to think “ooh, this is bit hot” before the whole thing exploded into tiny pieces.’

Later in the routine, he said: ‘I wish Richard Hammond HAD died and I wish he had been decapitated. Of course, it’s a joke. But coincidentally it’s also what I believe.’

Lee has made no secret of his dislike for Top Gear in episodes of his BBC2 show, which is watched by one million viewers.

He has characterised Hammond and his colleagues, Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as ‘bullies’.

An audience member in Edinburgh said: ‘It was very funny and it is his stock-in-trade, complaining about his bete noires.

‘But I don’t imagine that Hammond would be happy to hear it. He told a joke which he said was made-up, about how he had saved Hammond from some school bullies, but you couldn’t help wondering if there was something more to it.’

Neither Lee nor Hammond was prepared to speak about their time at Solihull School.
Fellow students recalled how Lee was a star pupil, with a particular aptitude for English.

His headmaster, Philip Griffiths, said: ‘He was a very able English scholar and had a remarkable way with words. He was involved in drama, arts and literature and he was chairman of the sixth-form group which we had at that time.’

Hammond’s progress at the school was less remarkable, although he left the school early after his family moved to Ripon, North Yorkshire, where he attended Ripon Grammar.

Last night, Hammond did not want to comment on Lee’s comedy routine, although he is believed to view Lee’s jokes as being ‘in bad taste’.

Lee was embroiled in controversy four years ago, as co-writer of the musical Jerry Springer: The Opera, which led to protests by religious pressure group Christian Voice.

Lee said before his Edinburgh show on Friday night: ‘I don’t want to talk about it. They do jokes on Top Gear don’t they? Treat it as a joke.’

His spokeswoman said: ‘I don’t think they knew each other at school.’