Quentin Willson
| Quentin Willson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 July 1957 Lyng, Norfolk, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Television presenter, Author, Journalist, Broadcaster |
| Height | 6' 1" (1.85 m) |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is a British TV presenter and motoring expert, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes Britain's Worst Driver, Fifth Gear, and the original incarnation of Top Gear. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife and three children.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early years
Willson studied English Literature at the University of Leicester. He founded a car dealership selling Ferraris and Maseratis. In the early 1990s, he was the deputy editor of the only magazine solely devoted to second hand motors, Buying Cars.
[edit] Top Gear
He joined the BBC to co-host the original version of Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson. For a decade between 1991 and 2001, he appeared every week on the programme, typically as an expert on used cars.
He also presented his own classic car series The Car's The Star, along with the first property show to talk about money, All The Right Moves, both for the BBC.
[edit] Post Top Gear
After Top Gear's cancellation he left the BBC to present Channel Five's rival motoring programme, Fifth Gear. When Top Gear was relaunched, Willson said of Clarkson that "It's a compliment that the BBC are so afraid of losing ratings to us they've lured my old co-host out of semi-retirement."[1]
While at Five, Willson created the Britain's Worst Driver format, which was nominated for best reality show in the Montreux Golden Rose Awards.[citation needed] A raft of similar shows followed, including Britain's Worst DIYer, Worst Mother in Law, Worst Husband, Worst Teenager, and Worst Builder.
Willson also participated in the 2004 season of Strictly Come Dancing, but ignominiously got the lowest score ever on the show with his one and only dance before being voted off. Judge Craig Revel Horwood described Willson as "Britain's Worst Dancer".[2]
On the 12 January 2009, and again on the 4 December 2010, he appeared on BBC1's Breakfast programme giving advice on snow driving and which cars are better suited.[citation needed]
[edit] Writing
In 2004 Willson was awarded Motoring Writer of the Year. He writes regularly for The Sunday Mirror and has also written ten books.
- "Top Gear": Good Car Guide by Quentin Willson BBC Books 1993
- "Top Gear": Good Car Guide by Quentin Willson BBC Books 1994
- Classic Cars of the World by Quentin Willson and David Selby DK Publishing 1995
- Ultimate Classic Car by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing 1995. Republished with David Selby.
- Classic American Cars by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing 1997
- The Quentin Willson Guide to Used Cars: Everything You Need to Know by Quentin Willson Virgin Books 2001
- Quentin Willson's Cool Cars by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing. Second edition 2001
- Cars, A Celebration by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing 2001
- Great Cars by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing 2001
- Ultimate Sports Car by Quentin Willson, DK Publishing 2002
[edit] Consultancy and speaking
Quentin Willson is a consultant to many organisations and companies including the car warranty company Warrantywise, where he designed the entire policy for the Padiham based car warranty company after complaining that existing car warranties weren't worth the paper they were printed on.[3] Wilson also consults for BP[4][5] as an advocate of 'going green', BSI (British Safety Institute) and Castrol Oil.[6] He is also a regular face on the conference and after dinner speaking circuit.[7] Quentin has been at the forefront of raising awareness about the dangers of buying stolen cars,[8] fronting the 'Real or Rogue' campaign in March 2009.
[edit] Videos/DVDs
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Top Gear - Classic Cars | VHS |
| 1999 | Project Healey 3000 | VHS |
| 2009 | Project Healey 3000 | DVD |
[edit] References
- ^ Methven, Nicola (2002-03-27). "Car wars; Exclusive Quentin's dig at 'old hat' Clarkson". Daily Mirror (MGN): p. 22.
- ^ Quentin and Hazel Cha Cha Cha on YouTube
- ^ url = http://www.warrantywise.co.uk/
- ^ "Quentin Willson teams up with BP to help HR and fleet managers 'go green'". personneltoday.com. 2008-05-27. http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/05/27/45955/quentin-willson-teams-up-with-bp-to-help-hr-and-fleet-managers-go-green.html. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "BP At The Goodwood Festival Of Speed - July 2008". save-petrol.co.uk. 2008-07-11. http://www.save-petrol.co.uk/bp_at_goodwood.php. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "Quentin Willson pushes Castrol Oil campaign". AM Online. 2008-05-30. http://www.am-online.com/news/story/?nID=42897053. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "Quentin Willson Talent Profile". NMP Live Ltd. 2008-09-30. http://www.nmplive.co.uk/viewTalent.aspx?id=1446. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "Is Your Car Real or Rogue?". Youtube.com. 2009-03-26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgBr5Wx916w. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
1.Private Eye magazine issue no.1016 01-12-2000
[edit] External links
- Quentin Willson's Official Website
- Quentin Willson at the Internet Movie Database
- Quentin Willson Interview
- Official Link Top Gear (magazine) website
- Official BBC Top Gear website
- Sunday Mirror column
- [1] Quentin Willson at Warrantywise]
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