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None of us in our little family dare consider what the outcome would have been if Richard hadn’t scrambled his way out of that car last weekend. We’re just incredibly grateful he got out and escaped with cuts, bruises and a broken knee. Before they loaded him on to the stretcher he called me, anxious to let me know he’d “had a bit of a shunt” but was OK.

James [May] spoke to me moments later and gave me a little more information. Clearly Richard was downplaying what had happened and was, I suspect, in shock having escaped the blazing car seconds before it ignited. James assured me he would go to the hospital with Richard, who told me not to worry, he hadn’t hit his head (obviously my first concern), although he told me, “I’m fine but I might have done my leg.”

NC Richard shows that his horrific crash hasn’t brought him to his knees

I’m not a panicker, but I almost went to pieces this time

That was an understatement. I spoke again to James and asked him to remind hospital staff about Richard’s head injury, just in case. Naturally, James had already thought of that, and after a spot of medic bullying by a member of the crew I was allowed to speak to Richard again before he was airlifted away. That was the moment I started to feel peculiar. I was in the centre of Cheltenham with our 16-year-old daughter Izzy, shopping for a party we were going to that night.

Richard Hammond's horrific crash Tue, November 28, 2017 Richard Hammond’s Grand Tour colleagues thought the star had been killed after the supercar he was driving careered off a mountain track in Switzerland. Play slideshow PA 1 of 17 Richard Hammond's supercar crash will be shown on The Grand Tour

We put our arms around each other and kept reassuring one another, “He’s OK. Nothing to worry about.” “It’s OK, we’ve spoken to him. He’ll be fine.” But in the back of my mind – and Izzy’s too – were the memories of his last accident. I’m not a panicker, but I almost went to pieces this time. I didn’t rant or get hysterical but my brain needed to keep itself occupied with something – anything – as long as it wasn’t the reality of Richard’s situation. I dragged Izzy into a shop and started buying chocolate for everyone, including myself. I rarely eat the stuff, in fact none of us do. It was ridiculous and as we came back on to the street I said, “What am I doing? Sorry Iz, just humour me.” I smiled at her and gave her a hug, “Oh, but you already are.” We walked to the car with our arms around each other. I kept asking Izzy if she was OK and she was incredibly resilient for about five minutes.

PA The crash was described by Jeremy Clarkson as ‘the most frightening [and] biggest I’ve ever seen’

Proving she is the product of strength over adversity, tears came and went quickly before she turned her attention to manning the phone and texting her sister. Jeremy called, Andy Wilman [the show’s producer] called. There was a flurry of activity and by the time we were driving home a flight was being arranged to get me out to Switzerland. Izzy insisted I go, despite my concern that I would be leaving her before her final GCSE on Monday, as well as our 13-year-old, Willow, who was in the middle of end of year exams. When we drew up outside the house she shot out, ran up the stairs and started packing clothes in a bag for me as I gathered computer, chargers, etc, and liaised with our team of incredible helpers who were poised and ready to step in. She was keeping it all together and just before I jumped into the car bound for the airport I hugged her, the memory of a six-year-old Izzy, looking into my eyes just as she did then and being brave.

She refused to crumble in front of me, just as I try never to crumble in front of her. “The minute I’m gone, take yourself inside and have a good cry, Iz,” I said. “Seriously. Let it out. He’ll be OK. You know he’ll be OK.” “I’m fine. Go... You’ll miss the plane,” she replied. A hundred yards down the lane Richard called. “Stay with the girls,” he said. “ There’s no point you flying out here; they can strap me up and fly me home tomorrow.” I turned around and found a red-eyed but relieved Izzy waiting for me. She held the fort while I set off to collect Willow from school. We’d kept in touch with her and made sure she knew Daddy was fine. Fortunately, her memories of the crash 10 years ago aren’t nearly as vivid; she processes information and files it away, gratefully accepting the shield of protection offered to her without question. We told her Daddy would be fine, so he will be. She isn’t interested in the details, she trusts us to be honest. Naturally, the plan quickly changed. After consulting various medical experts we realised that Richard flying before the operation wasn’t the best idea.

GETTY Richard with wife Mindy