Andy Wilman

Andy Wilman
Wilman at the shooting of the opening scene for The Grand Tour in 2016
Born
Andrew Neville Wilman [1]

(1962-08-16) 16 August 1962 (age 62)[2]
Glossop, England
EducationRepton School
OccupationTelevision producer
Years active1994–present
EmployerAmazon Studios
Known for

Andrew Neville Wilman (born 16 August 1962) is an English television producer who is best known as the co-creator (with Jeremy Clarkson) and former executive producer of the Top Gear show, from 2002 to 2015, as well as being the executive producer of The Grand Tour. He was responsible for much of the show's style and humour, along with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. He has also presented segments of the original Top Gear. Wilman and Clarkson both attended Repton School along with Formula One designer Adrian Newey.[3]

After the original format of Top Gear was cancelled by the BBC, Wilman and ex-presenter Clarkson pitched a new format.

Wilman and Clarkson's company Bedder 6, which handled merchandise and international distribution for Top Gear, earned over £149m in revenue in 2012, prior to a restructuring that gave BBC Worldwide full control of the Top Gear rights.[4][5]

In April 2015, Wilman announced that he had resigned as executive producer of BBC Television's Top Gear following Jeremy Clarkson's exit in March 2015, owing to Clarkson's "fracas" with a producer.[6] Wilman became the executive producer of The Grand Tour that he, Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May produced via their company W. Chump & Sons for release via Amazon Video to Amazon Prime customers. While not appearing on the show, Wilman was often referenced as "Mr Wilman" or "Neville", sending the others texts, which gave them challenges, missions, and often insults.[7]

In 2019 after three series, The Grand Tour changed formats, no longer producing episodic series and instead producing only individual episodes similar to specials from previous series. The group closed the W. Chump production company stating it was no longer necessary based on the amount of content being created. Wilman also stated he would be doing a solo project for Amazon, which would be produced following projects from Clarkson, Hammond and May.[8]

On 17 April 2020 Wilman was reported to have contracted COVID-19, and reportedly had difficulty in breathing and was severely affected, leading to delays of the upcoming Grand Tour Specials.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Director Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. ^ Researcha[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Batra, Ruhi. "Newey giving shape to Red Bull dreams". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Top Gear: Jeremy Clarkson netted more than £14m from show last year". The Guardian. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  5. ^ Conlan, Tara; Sabbagh, Dan (27 September 2012). "Top Gear deal nets Jeremy Clarkson multi-million pound payout". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Top Gear producer Andy Wilman quits show". BBC News. 23 April 2015.
  7. ^ MR. WILMAN SHOWS US WHAT'S IT LIKE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE GRAND TOUR SHOW by Styp P, Drivetribe.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  8. ^ Kanter, Jane (2 October 2019) The Grand Tour’ Showrunner Reveals New Details About Amazon Deal Following Production Switch Deadline. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  9. ^ Ahuja, Kieran (17 April 2020) Jeremy Clarkson reveals Grand Tour delay after producer Andy Wilman, catches Coronavirus The Sunday Times. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  10. ^ DriveTribe "Why is the Grand Tour taking so long?" April 29, 2020