Wheeler Dealers has some new company. Today, Velocity announced longtime host Edd China is leaving the series after 13 seasons and a new cohost will be featured in season 14.
The car show follows automotive valuation expert Mike Brewer as he finds, fixes, and flips old vehicles with the help of a master mechanic.
In place of China, automotive expert Ant Anstead will co-host season 14 of Wheeler Dealers and serve as master mechanic. Velocity has not yet announced a premiere date for the new season.
Read more details below:
(New York) – Velocity today announced established automotive expert Ant Anstead is the new co-host and master mechanic on the global hit series WHEELER DEALERS. After 13 seasons, longtime co-host and lead mechanic Edd China has decided to leave the series to pursue other projects. WHEELER DEALERS will continue for a season 14 later this year with current co-host Mike Brewer who will now be joined by Anstead. Ant Anstead is the former host of the Channel 4 series “For The Love Of Cars” and previously hosted “Building Cars Live” for BBC2.
“First, the Velocity team wants to thank Edd China for the care, dedication and effort he’s given to the network, Discovery networks worldwide and WHEELER DEALERS for more than a decade. While we’ll miss his signature orange gloves, we know that anything they touch will turn to automotive gold,” said Robert Scanlon, executive vice president and general manager of Velocity and Automotive Content. “We’re committed to making WHEELER DEALERS the best automotive series on TV, and feel Ant brings the in-depth knowledge our viewers crave and a unique style our viewers will love. He, Mike Brewer and the production team are laser focused on delivering the best car projects and best episodes possible.”
“As the first, original format for fans interested in fixing cars, it’s fair to say most TV motoring shows trace their heritage back to WHEELER DEALERS,” said Anstead. “I grew up watching and learning from Edd and Mike, and in recent years have come to know both as close personal friends. It is with Edd’s blessing that I join the team for this new and exciting challenge. I hope he and viewers enjoy what I bring to the show and recognize that for me it’s always been about the love of cars.”
Ant Anstead is best known for his day job as a car builder, but he is also a designer, artist, world record holder for selling vehicles for the highest price in the World at auctions, and a semi-professional soccer player. As a car nut, Anstead has been building custom-made cars since he was a kid. He has built a global reputation for building custom-made classic vehicles to individual client specifications. Anstead creates true works of art and he has built an enviable reputation supplying cars and art works to museums, private collections and enthusiasts all around the world.
Anstead was approached by Love Productions in 2013 to front the Channel 4 series “For The Love of Cars” with Philip Glenister. The series was a huge hit and returned in 2015 for a second season with a one off special in 2016. In 2015 he hosted BBC2’s pioneering live show “Building Cars Live” alongside James May and Kate Humble. In addition to WHEELER DEALERS, he hosts the new 10-part Channel 4 series “World’s Most Expensive Cars”, and is often seen hosting the live stages of some of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious car shows. Anstead also supports a number of charities alongside being an ambassador for the U.K. apprentice scheme.
For 13 seasons WHEELER DEALERS has successfully found, fixed, flipped, tested and traded roughly 135 cars on the international market. The international hit series and Velocity’s #2 franchise continues hunting down deals in America – the most exciting, most competitive car market on the planet. From the sunny beaches of southern California to the coldest edges of Maine, WHEELER DEALERS search coast-to-coast for the best vehicles to buy, restore, test and sell for a tidy profit in all new episodes. Season 14 of WHEELER DEALERS debuts on Velocity in the fourth quarter of 2017.
WHEELER DEALERS is produced for Velocity and Discovery Networks International by Discovery Studios. In the U.S., Joshua C. Berkley is executive producer for Velocity and Robert S. Scanlon is executive vice president and general manager of Velocity and Automotive Content.”
What do you think? Do you watch Wheeler Dealers? Are you sad Edd China is leaving?
I wont be watching anymore without edd china on the show,he was the show.its a sad day for this series,i really enjoyed watching it.we don’t need shows like American chopper and that nonsence on the air anymore,ducational shows are far better as far as im concerned
So sad to see Mr. China leave, he will be terribly missed. I will still give the series a try with the new mechanic. Hope the change works!
Some have said …”if Edd wants to leave the show…” However it’s not that Edd wants to leave, it’s that Velocity neutered the format that made the show so appealing. The way Edd explained the necessary work required, the why and the how. That was continually reduced, then cut out by Velocity once they took over production. The reason of course was money. For a large part, the show’s success centered on the way Edd interacted with his work and explanations. Velocity stated, that the show was to difficult too produce the way it was, ie: they (Velocity) are both… Read more »
Terry McGee is right on the money. The great auto mechanic how-to shows spent most of their time and effort demonstrating HOW to do whatever it was they were focusing the episode on – actually installing/repairing/modifying something. The cameramen worked their rear ends off to get good angles of the mechanics actually doing the work as they gave their running commentary about what they were doing and why. Now we get antics and showboating while all the work on the car happens during the commercial breaks. Velocity’s editorial decisions to produce more reality shows with cars in them will lose… Read more »
The only thing I can say is: “IT WAS A GREAT SHOW” Will miss it a lot !! Well there will be reruns..
This is yet another example of quantity over quality driving Television “Executives” to make a decision based on forecasted profits & not the bigger picture. While I am sure Mr. Anstead is a great knowledgeable man, The fact of the matter is that ever since Wheeler Dealers started producing the series here in the states they have not only cut corners in the tech side of things but also begun to “Dumb up” Mr. Brewer and make him look less than intelligent. I have been a huge fan of the show and Mike and Edd from the beginning and watched… Read more »
I’d say that’s a wrap for the series . Just won’t be the same without Edd China the chemistry and comradeship those two had came through on the air . Oh well , guess all good things come to an end.
I have watched Wheeler Dealers from the beginning, and love the show. With Edd explaining everything he is doing makes it more interesting.
Mike and Edd are a team, they work well together.
I think it may be hard for someone to step into Edd’s shoes.
I watch this program quite often. Though Mike is all right, Edd is the one who really makes the show. Frankly speaking, I believe that he is irreplaceable, as far as the long time viewers are concerned. Time will tell.
The reason I watch this show is Edd China. Simple but true!!! He makes the show. It said he’s leaving to look into other situations. I hope that’s true, if you pushed him out for your reasons, your going to destroy the show. Just like Graveyard Carz ditching Daren and Josh, for a kiss ass and the owners daughter. That ruined that show. Plan and simple.
I never write to anyone about Television shows but I am staggered by Velocity’s incompetence and lack of insight regarding Wheeler Dealers. Life never ceases to amaze. The younger folk use the expression “epic fail” quite freely. This is a strange example of a dreadful mistake and I would dearly love to know the whys and hear an explanation from the decision maker(s). As (proper) cars head for the sunset, the attraction of a show like this lies, I have a hunch, more in the skill and mechanical knowhow of the guy with the dirt under the fingernails than in… Read more »
I hate that Wheeler Dealers is going the way of Top Gear. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Why do you feel it is necessary to muck with this tv show? We are all extremely sad to hear of Edd’s departure! I am sure this new person, Ant, is a great guy. But, Ant ISN’T Edd and the chemistry will never, ever he the same.
PAY Edd what he wants and BRING HIM BACK!
Edd was the main reason why I watched the show. I’m feeling the same disappointment that I did when I heard that Clarkson, Hammond, and May were leaving Top Gear. The new TG with the new hosts is only somewhat watchable. I just don’t enjoy it any more. That being said, I will give the new WD series a chance, but it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get me to stick with it.
It’s a pity. The chemistry between Edd and Mike is very good. I think this will kill the show.
Sorry, I am sure that Antstead is a great guy, but the only reason I watch Wheeler Dealers is because of Edd China. I realize it is not the fault of the show if Edd wants to leave and he is entitled to make that decision, but I just can’t imagine the show without him. I may watch an episode and give the new pairing a chance but I am really disappointed that Edd is leaving. For me, Edd does the important work and makes the show. The other guy is just a car dealer.
There’s no doubt that many of us watched Wheeler Dealer to watch Ed explain how and why he was fixing each part of car. I’m hoping that this change will not turn this show into another show similar to most Velocity already have and are filled with bleaps because the the language is so terrible, how disgusting. Being older I did not grow up around people who talked like the people on so many of Velocity’s shows. I refuse to watch any of these shows full of bleeps. And I certainly would not let my son watch any of these… Read more »
I agree, without Ed China the show will not be the same.I watched the show because of his personal touch to his fixes.I can’t see the show making it to season 15.I know I’m done.So that one negative vote so far.
What a bonehead move, to get rid of Ed. Who do we have making these decisions. Now, there is the person that needs to resign.