The Dealer’s Wheel
Ant Anstead on why Birmingham in March is holiday heaven
Wheeler Dealer Ant Anstead on why he loves the PC Resto Show.
Most people are aware that Wheeler Dealers shows 16 cars in each season. And that season goes out onscreen in two halves (eight cars, followed by a ‘best of’ show; then a short break before another eight cars and another ‘best of’ episode). This is how it’s been for many many years.
As I write this, the viewer is in that mid-season break waiting for the second half of this current season 14. For Mike and me, however, there’s no rest – we film continually through all 16 cars. This means we work on eight cars at any one time so, yes, the workshop is a little chaotic. Just the way I like it.
Filming in the US means we only really get to come back to the UK at particular milestones or breaks in schedule. And at the end of March we’re back on the familiar flight over to Heathrow for this year’s Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show at the NEC. For us and the rest of the production crew it signifies the end of series 14. Our work is done, and we can relax for at least a little while. Of course, nobody will have seen the second half, but Mike and I know exactly what’s to be expected – and we’re excited about it.
At this pivotal break, I have time to reflect and look back at what has been a remarkable 12 months. I’m writing this column in my new home in California. Mind you, I say ‘new’, but I find it hard to believe that I’ve been living there for a year. A whole year… wow, where did that go, then? Time seems to be skipping by so quickly – and already I’m hearing the names of cars for Series 15 being bandied about! The cliché about time flying when you’re having fun is true right enough.
Putting in a shift
The flight home also gives me a welcome chance to take my foot off the gas. I accept that having a job on the telly can seem like a glamorous gig to land, but the reality is that we all have to put a serious shift in to make it happen.
And I wouldn’t change that for the world. I’ve always been a person who works hard and pushes myself; and the team around me have the same ethos. I’m very proud of what we have done. But, right now, for me it’s holiday mode! Although I’ll be at the NEC show as a host, the truth is it feels kind of like a holiday for me – and that’s exactly how I’m going to treat it. I’m going to slow down, breathe, catch up with friends I’ve not seen for a while and stroll around the expansive NEC halls at the pace of a man walking along a Mediterranean beach. I’ve attended the NEC for many years yet I’ve never really got to see every corner. So, my promise to myself is to attend the PC show wearing my car-guy hat. Please – stop me and chat and talk about anything car related. I miss the quintessentially British custom of enjoying small talk over an open bonnet. So, Blighty beware – a laid-back Ant is on the way to you. And Series 15? Well, there’s a change coming. And I think you guys are going to love it…■
The new series of Wheeler Dealers is on Discovery Channel and premiered at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC on November 11, 2017.