Hamster too timid for Wipeout challenge

TV presenter Richard Hammond says he would never be a contestant on his Total Wipeout show - as he fears he might find the experience "painful".

Hammond, whose daredevil stunts on Top Gear have been well-documented, including being rushed to hospital in 2006 after a high-speed smash, said he would draw the line at taking part in the slapstick BBC contest.

The show sees members of the public tackle extreme obstacles amid water and mud in a purpose-built course in Argentina.

Asked if contestants were ever injured, Hammond, who is nicknamed The Hamster, said: "There's the odd dislocated shoulder. That's why I would never do it - it might be painful."

Speaking about whether he had ever laughed when he shouldn't, he said: "Every week. It isn't cruel because the contestants volunteer - that gives me the right to laugh. I'm a very lucky boy who gets to present programmes I love."