The show also saw the first screening of Richard Hammond's 288mph crash. What did it look like? And were Clarkson and May nice to him? Alex Eckford watched the show.

The triumphant return of Top Gear saw ratings rise to a staggering 7.9m, 27.8 per cent of the total audience - beating the final of Celebrity Big Brother.

The UK's top motoring show offered a tantalising combination - the comeback of the biggest media celebrity of the year, Richard Hammond, and exclusive footage of his 288mph dragster crash.

The film showed Hammond exclaiming "Holy cr*p! This is terrifying!" as the jet engine of the Vampyre dragster ignited behind him.

Viewers watch slack-jawed as the accident was shown for the first time, revealing how the car rolled over and embedded its rollbar - and Hammond's head - into the dirt while still travelling at 230mph.

A stunned silence fell over the studio as a slow-motion replay showed the car's front right tyre explode, sending the car veering off the runway. In an unscripted moment, one fan shouted "Well done mate", as the studio erupted in spontaneous applause.

When Clarkson asked Hammond why he didn’t go home after the second run - at a record 314mph - he said: "It was 5pm and we had the runway until 5.30. It was a bit like when your mum calls you if for your tea and you try and stretch it out for as long as you can."

But The Sun today reported Hammond is furious after the car's owner Colin Fallows blamed him for the crash. The newspaper reported Fallows claimed the presenter had ignored safety instructions and the crash could have been avoided if Hammond had released the car's parachute.

"He stood on the brakes. Once these cars are in motion you don’t touch the brakes. You stay on the prescribed line and should always be aware of the unexpected," he told The Sun.

After the footage was shown the Hamster also made his co-hosts swear never to mention the crash on the show again.

At the start of the show, James May told the audience how Hammond had pleaded "For Pete's sake, don’t make a big fuss."

The Hamster then made his return to the screen down an illuminated staircase, complete with dancing girls. "That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to do," he said.

Clarkson's first question to his returning co-host was "Are you now a mental?", followed swiftly by May's offer of a tissue "for if you start dribbling".

The 37-year-old pin-up issued a heartfelt thank you to the hospital staff and rescue helicopter crew who helped him during his recovery, and to viewers who wrote in to wish him a speedy recovery. "It really meant a lot and it helped," said Hammond.

Elsewhere in the show it was business as usual as a gleeful Clarkson - who generously offered to test drive all fast cars in the future to protect Hammond - slammed a Jaguar XKR round a track.

And in one epic section of the show the team resurfaced a B-road in 24 hours (including a classic moment where May snatched a megaphone away from Clarkson's mouth and threw it under a road roller).

I'm glad to report the show's sense of fun - and Richard Hammond - is still intact.

The boys are definitely back in town.

What did you think of the show? Let us know at editorial@autotrader.co.uk.

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