Richard Hammond shares unique recovery method as he makes rare brain injury admission

Speaking in his Who We Are Now podcast, which he records alongside his daughter Izzy Hammond, he chatted to James May and Olly Raeburn, CEO of Hornby Hobbies, in the latest episode.

As the group discussed mental health and the benefits so-called "nerdy hobbies" can have on the mind, Hammond, 54, shared how losing himself in Lego helped aide his recovery 18 years ago.

"This idea of modelling as therapy is a very well understood and well-trodden path’ there’s been a number of studies on it," Raeburn explained.

"One done not that long ago by Model’s For Heroes with Brunel University, which showed that modelling activity and scale modelling for veterans and ex-serviceman was a really, really good way of giving them a sense of accomplishment, creativity, mindfulness, focus. So, this kind of idea of active hands, quiet mind is a really important thing."

Revealing that he himself benefited from a newfound hobby during his recovery period back in 2006 after an accident which had left him in a coma for two weeks, Hammond explained: "The whole wellness side of it, totally agree.

"When I was recovering in hospital from brain injury, the doctors recommended - oh, this is another one of your non-brands, it’s the 'L' word, Lego."

He continued: "I was sitting in bed, still pretty broken up and bad, but I could focus and lose myself in it.

"And the doctors all agreed and conceded that any activity that’s involving spatial awareness, three-dimensional thinking, two-dimensional thinking that you can lose yourself in was a good thing for me to do."

May, who presented Top Gear with Hammond from 2003 to 2015, pointed out the bizarre way such hobbies are labelled as "nerdy".

"We don't say the same of people who, say, are obsessed with the theatre or film or cooking.

"These are also things I’m quite interested in, but nobody ever says, 'Oh, that’s really sad.'

"But if you say, 'I made an Airfix Spitfire,' they think that must be something you do alone because you've got no friends."

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Raeburn noted: "I think there’s a big misconception about modellers and hobbyists being very solitary creatures.

"But there are enormous communities of people who have this shared passion and shared interest."

May added: "This is where the internet is fantastic, because it is not just things like model making, all interests and all passions, it has just brought the whole globe together.

"Anybody who says, 'Oh, the internet is full of people who tell you how to make bombs,' I think b*******! For every one of those, there's a million people sharing something they really love – it’s fantastic!"

Who We Are Now with Izzy & Richard Hammond is available to listen to on Global Player and other podcast outlets.