Quentin Willson(born 23 July 1957) is an English television presenter and producer, motoring journalist, author and former car dealer. He was a presenter of the motoring programmesBritain's Worst Driver,Fifth Gear,and the original incarnation ofTop Gear.
Quentin Willson | |
|---|---|
 Willson refueling aHyundai ix35 | |
| Born | 23 July 1957 Leicester,England |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenter, Author, Journalist, Broadcaster |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | www |
Early life
editWillson, a twin,[1]is the son of ProfessorBernard Willson,[2]latterly the Dean of the Faculty of Arts atUniversity of Leicester,who was the first code breaker atBletchley Parkto decode theItalian NavyHagelin C-36code machine.[3]
Television
editWillson joined theBBCin 1991 to co-host the original version ofTop GearwithJeremy Clarkson.Until the original format's cancellation in 2001, he appeared every week on the programme, typically as an expert on used cars.
Willson later presented his own produced classic car seriesThe Car's the Star,along with the first property show to talk about money,All The Right Moves,both for the BBC.
AfterTop Gear'scancellation, he left the BBC to presentChannel 5's rival motoring programme,Fifth Gear.WhenTop Gearwas 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."[4]
While at Channel 5, Willson created theBritain's Worst Driverformat. A raft of similar shows followed, includingBritain's Worst DIYer,"Worst Farmer",Worst Mother in Law,Worst Husband,Worst Teenager,Worst Builder,Worst Zookeeper,andWorst FIFA 2002 Player.After Willson's appearances on Britain’s Worst series, comedianHarry Hilldressed up as him and announced: "I used to be on Top Gear, now I’m on Channel 5. Welcome to Britain’s Worst Career Move".[5]Willson stopped presentingFifth Gearin 2005.
Willson also participated in the second series ofStrictly Come Dancingin 2004, but ignominiously got thelowest score everon the show with his one and only dance before being voted off. Willson still holds the record for lowest score ever on Strictly with a grand total of eight out of a possible 40 points. JudgeCraig Revel Horwooddescribed Willson as "Britain's Worst Dancer".[6]
On 12 January 2009, and again on 4 December 2010, he appeared onBBC Breakfastgiving advice on snow driving and which cars are better suited. On 5 April 2012, he once again appeared on BBC Breakfast talking about the Highway Code.[7]He also regularly featured on theITVbreakfast showDaybreak,when there were motoring related features.
In 2015, Willson returned to Channel 5 to hostThe Classic Car Show.
Campaigning
editIn the 1990s, both in print and on television, Willson highlighted the artificially higher prices of new cars in the UK compared to Europe, campaigning for price parity for UK buyers. He is widely credited for drawing attention to uncompetitive pricing by the car makers which prompted theEuropean Commissionto take action and use block exemption regulations to force the industry to reduce UK list prices on new passenger cars.[8]
Fair Fuel UK
editFrom early 2011 until 2021, Willson was the national spokesman for FairFuelUK campaigning for lower government fuel duty.[9]From March 2011, Willson and the FairFuelUK Team successfully pressured the UK government to defer 11p of duty rises[citation needed],reducing the overall tax take by £5.5 billion in fuel duty. His campaigning appeared on BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, Newsnight, Channel 5 News, Channel 4 News, The Sun, Times, Telegraph, Mail and other national newspapers. The House of Commons Back Bench Committee allowed Willson to be present in the House at a Commons fuel duty debate in 2011.[9]
Fair Fuel UK is funded by two industry associations: the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association. Its previous funders have included the RAC, the Association of Pallet Networks and UKLPG, among others.[10]
In September 2021 Willson resigned from Fair Fuel UK because he was “unhappy with the direction the lobby group was going and their lack of environmental sensibilities”.[11]
Writing
editIn 2004, Willson was awarded Motoring Writer of the Year. He writes regularly forThe Sunday Mirrorand has also written ten books.
- "Top Gear": Good Car Guideby Quentin Willson (BBC Books,1993)
- "Top Gear": Good Car Guideby Quentin Willson (BBC Books,1994)
- Classic Cars of the Worldby Quentin Willson and David Selby (DK Publishing,1995)
- Ultimate Classic Carby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,1995. Republished with David Selby.)
- Classic American Carsby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,1997)
- The Quentin Willson Guide to Used Cars: Everything You Need to Knowby Quentin Willson (Virgin Books,2001)
- Quentin Willson's Cool Carsby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,Second edition 2001)
- Cars, A Celebrationby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,2001)
- Great Carsby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,2001)
- Ultimate Sports Carby Quentin Willson (DK Publishing,2002)
Consultancy and speaking
editQuentin Willson is a consultant to many organisations and companies including the car warranty company Warrantywise.[12]Willson is also a former consultant toBP,[13][14]BSI (British Safety Institute) andCastrolOil in 2008–10.[15]He is also a regular face on the conference and after dinner speaking circuit.[16] Willson has been at the forefront of raising awareness about the dangers of buying stolen cars,[17]fronting the 'Real or Rogue' campaign in March 2009. He also appears in promotional videos on the website for Store First, a self-storage company seeking investors but currently the subject of a BBC investigation into concerns expressed by those investors.[18][19]
Videos/DVDs
edit| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Top Gear – Classic Cars | VHS |
| 1999 | Project Healey 3000 | VHS |
| 2009 | Project Healey 3000 | DVD |
References
edit- ^"Index entry - WILLSON, Ashley L."FreeBMD.ONS.Retrieved21 August2014.
- ^Anna Pukas (28 April 2012)."Our family war heroes".Daily Express.Archived from the original on 14 January 2016.Retrieved23 February2013.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^"July 1941".Bletchley Park.Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2011.Retrieved23 February2013.
- ^ Methven, Nicola (27 March 2002). "Car wars; Exclusive Quentin's dig at 'old hat' Clarkson".Daily Mirror.MGN. p. 22.
- ^"Telly comic Harry Hill is so quip-witted".26 October 2008.
- ^Quentin and Hazel Cha Cha ChaonYouTube
- ^"Do you know the Highway Code?".BBC News.5 April 2012.
- ^Private Eye magazine issue no.1016 1 December 2000
- ^ab"FairFuelUK Campaign".www.fairfueluk.com.
- ^"FairFuelUK".index.html.Retrieved29 July2020.
- ^"Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson quits lobby group in row over electric cars".iNews.Retrieved16 September2021.
- ^"Warrantywise".23 January 2012.Retrieved14 December2016.
- ^"Quentin Willson teams up with BP to help HR and fleet managers 'go green'".personneltoday.com. 27 May 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2011.Retrieved30 September2008.
- ^"BP at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – July 2008".save-petrol.co.uk. 11 July 2008.Retrieved30 September2008.
- ^"Quentin Willson pushes Castrol Oil campaign".AM Online. 30 May 2008.Retrieved30 September2008.
- ^"Quentin Willson Talent Profile".NMP Live Ltd. 30 September 2008.Retrieved30 September2008.
- ^"Is Your Car Real or Rogue?".Youtube.com. 26 March 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2021.Retrieved31 March2009.
- ^"Videos | Store First".Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2016.Retrieved21 January2016.
- ^"You and Yours investigates storage firm Store First, You and Yours".BBC.co.uk.BBC Radio 4.