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 will no longer have this show on my record list. I watch this show loyally for the entire time it has been on the air. The exit of Edd China to me has ruined this show. If anything Mike Brewer should have been the one to leave. Ed is a very unique person that can’t be replaced. I don’t think there will be much left for another season of the show.
Agree Allan, for me the show is history.
Really not pleased at all with losing Ed he was really the heart of the show now you are upmarket Los angeles-based unlimited budget unappealing you have lost your British charm in addition to complete lack of concern over your budget is one of the most offensive aspects of the new show
In my opinion , wheelers dealers is no more, I could care less about the sale. The entire show should be about the work behind getting it there. Edd is gifted, knowledgeable and shows how it got there. I don’t think the new guy will bring to the show the same level of versatility Edd did.
I will not watch the new season.
Best of luck to Edd in his new ventures, Thanks for all of the great work.
I will definitely miss Edd. He was the reason I watched the show. Mike gets a bit irritating after a while. Cheers to you, Edd! Best of luck.
i will not watch anymore !!!!!!!!!!!
No reason has been given for Edd China leaving the show other than the ubiquitous statement “to pursue other interests”. Could the real reason be, Edd did all the work and made the magic happen to the cars Mike Stumbled into and then was quick to sell at under market value? He will be missed for sure!
Edd is the show, without Edd there is no show. Sorry Mike.
Edd China is the focal point of the show Wheeler Dealers. The entire remaining aspects of the show are all about setting up Edd with a car to work on, and the best part of the show is Edd teaching the audience how automobiles function in detail. It is the only truly educational automotive show on television. Edd actually shows the audience things they could then go in the garage and do themselves. That’s the appeal of the program at its core. I will not watch the show with the replacement cast.
No Edd, no show. Big mistake replacing him. It would be like a Stones concert without Mick Jagger.
Edd was the focal point of the show. He was the main attraction and my reason for watching the show.
Edd was the show. The entire show was structured around Edd and the work he performed. I have no interest in watching this show without Edd.
I watched the show because of Edd and his contributions to the show. He was the main attraction of the show.
Edd China was the main attraction of the show. Edd was the centerpiece. Everything else on the show was there just to support Edd working on the cars. You could only show Edd parts and still have a good show. But take Edd out and there is nothing left. Edd was by far the most interesting and substantive portion of the show. I will never watch the show with the replacement mechanic. Edd was PERFECT for that part of the show. I do not see any aspect of the show that improves with Edd gone.
We’ve always marveled at Edd’s magic and knowledge with cars. Very disappointed to see he has been replaced. I hope it was his decision. The program won’t be the same without him.
Edd China was the entire Wheeler Dealer show. He was the star. It was the only car show you could watch and learn something you could do at home. Minimizing his part of the show was the worst decision in TV media history. Brewer brings nothing to the show besides setting Edd up to carry the show.