Andrew Neville Wilman (born 16 August 1962) is an English
television producer
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...
who is best known as the 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. He has also presented segments of the original ''
Top Gear''. He is primarily responsible for the creation of
The Stig.
Wilman and Clarkson both attended
Repton School along with
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
designer
Adrian Newey.
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
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
full control of the ''Top Gear'' rights.
In April 2015, Wilman announced that he had resigned as executive producer of
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
's
''Top Gear'' following
Jeremy Clarkson's exit in March 2015, owing to Clarkson's "fracas" with a producer. Wilman became the executive producer of ''
The Grand Tour'' that he, Clarkson,
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and Jame ...
, and
James May produced via their company ''W. Chump & Sons'' for release via
Amazon Video to
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
customers. While not appearing on the show, Wilman was often referenced as "Mr Wilman", sending the others texts, which gave them missions, and often insults.
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.
On 17 April 2020 Wilman was reported to have contracted
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and reportedly had difficulty in breathing and was severely affected, leading to delays of the upcoming ''Grand Tour'' Specials. The reports did however confirm he was recovering, and on 29 April Wilman appeared in a ''
DriveTribe
DriveTribe is a Social networking service, social networking platform founded as an online hub for auto enthusiast content and digital socialising. Founded by presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond alongside entrepreneur Erne ...
'' video confirmed that while he had been "completely out" for ten days, he was now feeling better and recovering well.
DriveTribe "Why is the Grand Tour taking so long?" April 29, 2020
/ref>
Works
As producer
* ''Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld
''Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld'' is a BBC television series about the car and motoring cultures of various countries. The show was presented by Jeremy Clarkson and consisted of two series of six episodes each plus a special focusing on the UK. E ...
'' (1995–96)
* '' Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines'' (1998)
* '' Jeremy Clarkson: Meets the Neighbours'' (2002)
* '' Top Gear'' (2002–15)
* '' The Victoria Cross: For Valour'' (2003)
* '' Jeremy Clarkson: The Greatest Raid of All Time'' (2007)
* '' The Grand Tour'' produced by W. Chump and Sons: Series 1-3, Expectation Entertainment Series 4- (2016–)
* ''Clarkson's Farm
''Clarkson's Farm'' is a British television documentary series about Jeremy Clarkson and his farm in the Cotswolds. It was first broadcast by Amazon Prime Video on 11 June 2021. The series documents Clarkson's attempts at running a farm in th ...
'' (2021-)
As presenter
* '' Top Gear'' (appeared in 35 episodes, 1994–2001)
Awards
__NOTOC__
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilman, Andy
1962 births
Living people
People from Glossop
People educated at Repton School
English television presenters
Top Gear people