Richard Hammond has followed James May in deciding not to feature as a presenter of BBC2’s Top Gear following the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson.

The popular series will have a new on-screen and back room team when it returns next year.

Hammond is expected to continue working for other BBC shows, but as far as Top Gear is concerned he said in a Tweet that he will not be abandoning his fellow presenters.

It is understood that he and he fellow presenters, together with producer Andy Wilman, met at Clarkson’s west London home this week to discuss new projects.

There has been speculation that they will revive the format on Netflix, ITV or Sky.

Hammond’s other BBC shows have included Wild Weather,  Invisible Worlds and Total Wipeout.