BBC says to postpone Top Gear

LONDON - The BBC is to postpone the new series of Top Gear until presenter Richard Hammond has recovered from the brain injuries he suffered in a high-speed crash.

The next series had been due to begin in the United Kingdom on October 8.

"We would not think of finalising plans for the next series without discussing it with everyone involved," the BBC said in a statement. "When it is suitable, the team will do this and we will announce a new transmission date."

Hammond, 36, was moved from a high dependency ward to a side-room on a general ward at Leeds General Infirmary on Saturday.

"He is continuing to do well," a hospital spokesman said.

Hammond was seriously injured on Wednesday when he crashed a jet-powered dragster as he accelerated towards 300 mph in a feature being filmed for the BBC show.

With the accident being jointly investigated by police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Top Gear Producer Andy Wilman threatened to quit if the BBC made any attempt to tone down the programme's emphasis on speed and extreme stunts.

"You either do the show you or you walk away," Wilman told The Observer newspaper on Sunday.

Hammond's co-host Jeremy Clarkson also rejected criticism of Top Gear's format.

"Next week I intend to be down on the track driving faster than ever," Clarkson told The Observer. "It's what we do."

Meanwhile Hammond well-wishers have donated over 134,000 pounds to a charity for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which air-lifted the Top Gear presenter to hospital after Wednesday's crash.

- REUTERS