Top Gearpresenter Richard Hammond suffered a "significant brain injury" after the 370mph jet-powered car he was driving crashed on an airfield, doctors said tonight.
The 36-year-old is in a serious but stable condition at Leeds General Infirmary where friends and family are keeping a bedside vigil following yesterday's accident at Elvington airfield near York.
Hammond was airlifted to hospital after the record-breaking Vampire dragster veered off the runway, flipped over several times and crashed on to grass.
Doctors tonight said Hammond's injury gave them "cause for concern" but added that they were "reasonably optimistic" he would make a good recovery. Hammond's brother, speaking to reporters at the hospital in Leeds, was also upbeat about the father-of-two's progress.
He said: "He's making a bit of good progress. Both his brothers are here and his wife. The doctors are very pleased."
The update on Hammond's condition came as a source working on Top Gear claimed crew members had general health and safety concerns about the show.
Broadcastnow, a website for the television and radio industry, reported the source as suggesting the worries were due to be raised at a production meeting today.
"People working on the show have been really concerned about health and safety and having to work from dawn until dusk," the source told Broadcastnow.
But a BBC spokesman said: "All BBC programmes, including Top Gear, take health and safety extremely seriously.
"This meeting was not called for health and safety reasons and Broadcastnow is not saying that it was. If people were going to raise health and safety issues at this meeting it is the first we have heard of it."
Meanwhile, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson paid tribute to Hammond as he visited him in Leeds with co-presenter James May.
Clarkson said: "Obviously at this time both he and his family are the most important concerns we have. It must be devastating for his wife Mindy and his two utterly adorable children."
"I would just like to say how heartened Richard will be when I tell him just how many motorists and truck drivers on my way here wound down their windows to say they were rooting for him.