TOP MAN
Who is The Grand Tour and former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman?
Plus how he met a very famous Top Gear presenter
ANDY Wilman is a TV producer who has worked with Jeremy Clarkson on multiple shows.
He produced Top Gear in its most-loved format for thirteen years, from 2002 to 2015. Here's all you need to know about him.
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Who is The Grand Tour and former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman?
Born on August 16, 1962, Andrew Neville Wilman is most famous for his work on BBC show Top Gear.
He presented segments during the original format of the motors show in 1994.
After the series was axed in 2001, Andy and pal Jeremy Clarkson devised a new format which began airing in 2002.
Andy took control of the show as producer with Clarkson as presenter alongside Richard Hammond and James Dawe.
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After one season, Dawe was replaced by James May.
The trio hosted the show for 21 seasons under Andy, until departing in 2015.
Andy quit with them, and joined them on new project The Grand Tour.
How does Andy Wilman know Jeremy Clarkson?
Andy met Jeremy when they attended Repton School in Derby together, alongside Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey.
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Sharing the same sense of humour, Andy and Jeremy were responsible for much of Top Gear's comedy.
Andy also contributed to the creation of The Stig.
What is Andy Wilman's net worth?
According to Company Check, Andy's net worth is £182,000.
Andy is named as a director - along with Clarkson, Hammond and May - of TV company W Chump & Sons Limited, which makes The Grand Tour.
It's alleged that the company's name is derived from initials of those who started it - Wilman, Clarkson, Hammond and May.
The U might possibly represent "und," the German word for "and," owing to their mock dislike for all things German.
Jeremy is said to have a net worth of £55.8million, making him richer than his co-stars Hammond (£33million) and May (£20million).
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Has Andy Wilman appeared on any of his shows?
Andy's career has appeared to mirrored Clarkson's, producing many of his shows.
After Clarkson became a presenter for the show's original format of Top Gear in 1988, Andy joined the production crew at Pebble Mill.
He became a producer as well as a part-time presenter, appearing in 35 episodes from 1994 to 2001.
The show was cancelled in 2001, but was relaunched the following year with Andy as producer.
He's also produced other Clarkson shows including Motorworld (1995-1996), Extreme Machines (1998-1999), and Speed (2001) with Michael Schumacher.
After Clarkson was axed from Top Gear in 2015, Andy also left the show and joined the trio on The Grand Tour.
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In 2024, it was revealed that The Grand Tour was coming to an end.
Andy is also the executive producer of Clarkson's Farm, which follows his antics running a thousand acres of farmland in Oxfordshire.
Who's presented Top Gear since Andy Wilman and Jeremy Clarkson left the show?
ANDY Wilman left Top Gear after Jeremy Clarkson was dismissed.
Clarkson was sacked after fronting the show for over 27 years..
Other presenters stepping into the hosting role, but the show was abruptly pulled from screens due of safety concerns after Freddie Flintoff flipped an open-top Morgan Super 3 in Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Surrey in October 2022.
The BBC issued a statement reading: “Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the show for the foreseeable future."
Here's who has replaced Clarkson, Hammond and May since 2015.
- Chris Evans (2016)
- Matt LeBlanc (2016-2019
- Rory Reid (2017-2019)
- Chris Harris (2017-2022)
- Paddy McGuinness (2019-2022)
- Freddie Flintoff (2019-2022)
- The Stig (2002-2022)