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Edward John China (born 9 May 1971) is an English television presenter, mechanic, motor specialist and inventor, best known as being presenter and mechanic on Discovery Channel's television show ''
Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the UK and for Motor Trend in the U.S. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer with mechanics Edd China (Seri ...
''. He has also appeared on ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'', '' Auto Trader'', '' Scrapheap Challenge'' and ''
Fifth Gear ''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to Discovery Channel in 2012, and then in ...
''.


Early life

China developed an interest in cars and mechanics from an early age. He was educated at
King Edward's School, Witley King Edward's Witley is an independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1553 by King Edward VI and Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster. The School is located in the village of Wormley (near Witley), Surrey, Engl ...
in Surrey, and he holds a degree in engineering product design from
London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...
. While at university, China created the Casual Lofa (driving sofa), which was his first major project of note. It was built to raise money for a
Raleigh International Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation based in the UK. On 19 May 2022 Raleigh International Trust ceased operations and entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. The Raleigh International brand was bought by Impact Travel Group ...
expedition to
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
.


Television career

Following the success of his creation of the Casual Lofa, China's first job in television was as a special effects technician for ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including ...
'' in 1994. In 1998, China appeared as a guest on ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' Live, driving the Casual Lofa at the Silverstone 'Live Arena'. The same year, China and the Casual Lofa were also featured on
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
's DVD ''The Most Outrageous Jeremy Clarkson Video In The World.... Ever!'', where the Casual Lofa was raced at the
Thruxton Circuit The Thruxton Circuit is a motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about 30 miles north of Southampton. It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Championship, B ...
, in a manner similar to '' Wacky Races''. China was also featured on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The p ...
'' three times over the years, driving the Casual Lofa, Bog Standard and Street Sleeper. China was a guest on '' Scrapheap Challenge'' (known as ''Junkyard Wars'' in the United States) in an episode featuring driving beds and sofa cars. In the same year, China was featured in an episode of the television show '' This Is Your Life'' featuring Madness front man
Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...
. China drove presenter
Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...
around old haunts, and delivered Aspel to the television studios on the Casual Lofa. China was resident designer on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''Panic Mechanics'' a year later, and was also a guest on ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' feature "Build a Bond Car On A Budget", where he showcased a
Rover 800 The Rover 800 series is an executive car (E-segment in Europe) range manufactured by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland, and its successor the Rover Group from 1986 to 1999. It was also marketed as the Sterling in the United St ...
(purchased for £200) that had been modified with budget Bond esque gadgets, such as an ejection seat, for just £100. In 2005, China was a celebrity guest on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'', for a Children in Need Special. He also co hosted the short lived '' Auto Trader'' television series alongside Brewer. The series was screened by Discovery Channel. China was a guest in 2007 on '' The Culture Show'', being interviewed and driving Arthur Smith and various other performers around the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
. He, along with
Penny Mallory Penny Mallory is an English keynote speaker and performance coach, and a former British Rally Championship driver. She is a Leading Authority on Mental Toughness. She became the first woman to drive a World Rally Car (WRC)-specification in th ...
, Tony Mason and
Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler and commentator best known for his time with WWE under the ring name Alex Riley. He was a participant in the second season of ''NXT''. Professional wrestling ...
, presented a television miniseries for the United Kingdom that examined the history and culture of classic cars, geared toward classic car enthusiasts called ''Classic Car Club'' for Discovery Channel, which premiered in 2005.


''Wheeler Dealers''

China was hired by Discovery Channel and paired with television presenter Mike Brewer in 2003 specifically to make a new car programme: ''
Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the UK and for Motor Trend in the U.S. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer with mechanics Edd China (Seri ...
''. It became both China's and Brewer's most famous television work to date, and they presented the show together for 13 series, from 2003 to 2017. On 21 March 2017, China announced on his
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel that he was departing ''Wheeler Dealers'' due to disagreements over the direction of the programme. Six days later, in another video, China described how Brewer had telephoned him over the weekend saying that he, his wife and his daughter, were receiving significant online abuse, including death threats, because of China's leaving the show.


Business career


Cummfy Banana

Following the success of his creations as a special effects technician on the comedy television programme ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including ...
'', China set up Cummfy Banana Limited, in March 1999, as an outlet for his extreme creations. In 2001, China was interviewed about Cummfy Banana's vehicles on ITV's ''
Pulling Power ''Pulling Power'' is a regional motoring programme shown only on Central Television (ITV in the Midlands) in 1996. However, it returned in 2005 and was shown on ITV1 on a series trial basis until 2008, and it was also as a filler programme at ti ...
''. In 2006, he was interviewed on ITV's '' This Morning'' about his Cummfy Banana vehicles.


Grease Junkie

In 2009, China incorporated Grease Junkie Limited (whose website sells ''Wheeler Dealers'' and Grease Junkie merchandise) and became managing director. China owned a MOT and servicing garage in Bracknell, Berkshire, called ''Grease Junkie'', which was voluntarily liquidated in August 2016.


Internet presence

On 1 May 2018, China premiered his new series, ''Edd China's Garage Revival'', on his YouTube channel. China uploads more regularly to his ''Edd China'' YouTube channel, which has videos following his notable exploits post-''Wheeler Dealers''. He answers questions from fans on the channel in the ''AskEdd'' series. In April 2021, "Edd China's Workshop Diaries" premiered on Edd's personal YouTube channel, showing various projects in his personal Workshop.


World record attempts

China holds the '' Guinness World Record'' titles for the fastest shed, toilet, bed,
milk float A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn floats. They were once common in many European countries, ...
and the largest motorised shopping trolley, among other things. In 2007, owing to his record attempts, China was featured in a number of programmes, including ''
Fifth Gear ''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to Discovery Channel in 2012, and then in ...
'', ''
Pulling Power ''Pulling Power'' is a regional motoring programme shown only on Central Television (ITV in the Midlands) in 1996. However, it returned in 2005 and was shown on ITV1 on a series trial basis until 2008, and it was also as a filler programme at ti ...
'' and '' This Morning'', showcasing his creations. In 2012, China, and driver from the
BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
,
Tom Onslow-Cole Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole (born 16 May 1987 in Kingston, Surrey ) is a British auto racing driver. He won the International GT Open in Pro-Am category in 2018 and in 2019 and the 24H Series in 2015. It was announced in April 2014 that he wou ...
, were part of an
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
sponsored challenge, to convert a
milk float A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn floats. They were once common in many European countries, ...
into a
drag racer Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...
, which then achieved a place in the ''Guinness World Records'', for the world's fastest milk float.


Personal life

China is married to Norwegian born Imogen.


Filmography


Television


Published works

* ''Wheeler Dealers Car Restoration Manual'', Haynes Publishing UK, 2015, * ''Grease Junkie: Tall Stories and Wheel Adventures'', Penguin Random House, 2019 * ''Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts'', Virgin Books, 2019,


References


External links

*
Grease Junkie Website
*
Wheeler Dealers Official Website
*
Cummfy Banana Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:China, Edd People educated at King Edward's School, Witley English engineers English businesspeople 1971 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of London South Bank University