"IT WAS TERRIFYING!" Grand Tour's Andy Wilman Breaks Down The Most Iconic Specials Of His Career!

Grand Tour Producer Andy Wilman Breaks Down The Most Iconic Specials Of His Career!
Ahead of the release of theGrand Tour's latest special, A Scandi Flick, we spoke to Andy Wilman, or Mr Wilman as he's affectionately known, to break down the best Grand Tour specials and the most iconic specials that he has produced!
Andy Wilman talks about the latest Grand Tour Special, A Scandi Flick; The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen and of course, the legendary and iconic Top Gear 2007 USA Special.
Andy spoke about the fascinating conception of A Scandi Flick and James May's car crash in the latest special, he spoke about the reason they decided to take to boats and how people died whilst crossing the sea in the Grand Tour Presents: Seamen special, and he told us all about the iconic 2007 USA Special where Jeremy, Richard and James were chased out of Alabama by angry rednecks!
The latest Grand Tour Special: A Scandi Flick is out on Amazon Prime on Friday 16th September!
#TheGrandTour #AndyWilman #TheGrandTourPresents #AScandiFlick #BreakDown
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[@Shinx990]

Wilman is 100% the fourth man of the team. I wish he'd be on screen more.

[@mallerschwab980]

how about the stig

[@TheDemocrab]

@@mallerschwab980 The Stig's not a man, he's a tame racing driver.

[@ZdayMaverick89]

@@mallerschwab980 he only knows 2 facts about ducks and both of them are wrong so doubt he’d bring much to the team tbh

[@Vespastendert]

Wilman and porter

[@Rick-vm8bl]

No! He's slow enough as it is at editing, don't wanna give him even more of a reason to take over a year to edit ~2hrs worth of content.

[@thebolsta]

Andy Wilman was the producer that worked with Clarkson on Motorworld... Years before Top Gear they went to Vietnam and Jeremy rode a moped. It never get's a mention, and it's well worth watching the early development of their working relationship.

[@getty5788]

They are childhood friends from Repton School in Derby

[@thebolsta]

@@getty5788 Yes, that's why I defined it as their working relationship developing, not their relationship as friends. Apparently the name Stig came from the school they were at together.

[@niewissen9912]

Yes I agree. I love all his stuff from the early days. Clarkson has some awsome war documentary also

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@thebolsta The name 'Stig' comes from a childhood book - both of theirs and mine (I'm a similar vintage). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stig_of_the_Dump

[@thebolsta]

@@wessexdruid7598 I too recall Stig Of The Dump... But the term Stig was used to describe a particular type of pupil at the school that they went to. I can't remember at the minute exactly what it referenced, but I do recall Either Jeremy or Andy clearly defining where it came from. It was definitely not from Stig Of The Dump. Edit: At original Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's public school Repton, all new boys were called "stig".

[@johnking5174]

Such a refreshing change to watch an interview where the interviewer actually keeps quiet when the interviewee is speaking. She just allowed Andy to speak. Fantastic.

[@renaultclio2671]

No, she adore ppl that have more money they she. A real interview will be critical quest etc

[@SlimWhittman]

I feel the Vietnam motorbike and the Seaman special are two of the best and most original pieces of entertainment this group ever created. Excellent programming and thank you for the pleasure of continuing to produce for us to see.

[@chopsuey--]

Seamen was great but I personally think that Vietnam and mongolia special are the best

[@dbay_]

Bolivia special is my personal favorite

[@nothajzl]

Seamen isn't even close. I'd go with Patagonia mate.

[@xToddmcx]

Seamen was fun but a bit polarizing, I remember a lot of people hated it because it wasn't cars.

[@Exluto]

Wow shows how good their specials are when everyone replying has a different favourite.

[@HWvuurwerk]

I just like to say how refreshing it it's to have an interviewer that actually listens and let's the guy speak instead of yelling all kinds of nonsense!

[@Rick-vm8bl]

The comment about letting the trio's relationship develop is very true. It's noticable now that Top Gear since they all left is a very, very forced "Hey we're three funny friends" kind of setup and it doesn't work anymore and it's obvious that the BBC have screwed with it too much.

[@voteDC]

It reminds me of when the History channel took a go at Top Gear in America. You could tell when the studio took a step back and let that trios relationship develop naturally, it became a far better show.

[@ericchild3363]

TG used to be my favourite show, but I lost interest after these 3 left. The current 3 seem like caricatures.

[@88Frank]

I disagree. I think the new top gear is better as a car show. and the grand tour is also great. its okay to like both!

[@garrybaldy327]

Surely you don't mean Freddie, Paddy and Chris? 😂

[@TenchiFox]

@@voteDC What's absolutely hilarious is that Rutledge, Adam, and Tanner have stayed friends even to this day. While you could see it towards the end of the run of that show, it's especially true now that on the rare occasion when two or all three are able to get together the chemistry is very much like Jeremy, James, and Richard's is. If they were given another shot at it, I think they'd be fantastic.

[@Elrosso85]

This special took me back to their top gear days, it’ll be a sad day when they finish up.

[@gregoryclark8217]

Apparently they'll keep on filming until one of them dies.

[@tommyblackwell3760]

Having spent my teen years in rural Alabama, I was laughing my ass off when I first saw that episode, my thinking was right along with the cop's: "Are y'all out of your damned minds? Do you have any idea where you are?" One of my fondest wishes is to meet at least one of the lads and introduce myself, adding "I'm from Alabama"....just to see the look on his/their face/s! xD

[@MScotty90]

Ha, you could definitely have some fun with that. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.”

[@JakkeJakobsen]

How thick are people in Alabama actually wanting to beat someone up for their opinion? I mean, this is caveman level shit.

[@rcpmac]

Please have someone there with at least a phone camera

[@DG_427]

"Shit, they still after us?"

[@buzzytrombone4353]

@@JakkeJakobsen They want to have the sensory sensation of beating the shit out of someone. Shows what happens when their autism isn’t accommodated by professionals

[@ArcofZen]

I don’t know who the blond lady is, but great interviewing without constant interruptions 👏🏻

[@aslam7952]

Emily Brewster

[@freddieprocter5256]

He was wanting to talk about Argentina so badly!

[@soulcornflake1]

From all accounts, the insanity that has made Top Gear and Grand Tour legendary comes down to Andy Wilman.

[@ScottXC91]

Clarkson and Wilman have an equal hand in creating Top Gear as we know it today.

[@jalenn757]

Just want to put it out there that if they make another 100 specials of just car road trips I'm absolutely fine with it!

[@jas1007]

The combination of cars, humor and world travel works everytime.

[@smartin2174]

I am still waiting for a director's cut of the Vietnam special! This is and will be my all-time favourite!

[@applejuice5272]

0:19 "You too" Sounding...not as happy to be there 🤣

[@speedwaynutt]

Honestly I would love to see a proper Australian road trip featuring Utes/Holden and Fords.

[@JohnSpo]

I would have sworn Clarkson was the one naming these specials.

[@WeirdSeagul]

either Willman needs more interviews since he is a really good talker/narrator or you cut out some prompting questions

[@erikchopp2622]

I’d love to see some of the behind the scenes /how this masterpiece is filmed.

[@FormulaOneLeclerc]

Great interview!

[@baileybrewer1172]

I remember coming home from school as a child to watch the USA Special - I’m so glad it worked out how it did for you all! So many years of great laughs.

[@raven_of_zoso455]

I like that there's a hype before these specials. Because you know they're gonna be good. They're kinda like the modern day equivalent of Led Zeppelin. And I live only 20 minutes away from the car part shop Bilextra where they fell on their arses on the ice. And the worst thing was that I got tipped they were in the area at the same time as the media, but of course I was semi-decomposing in my bed with corona.

[@raven_of_zoso455]

@@captainnewfoundland1338 yes, road salt would work as a conservation for cadavers. But, I used the word decomposing in a figurative meaning, due to my sickness at the time. If you mean because of the ice outside the shop, the mild weather came quickly and lots of snow, and also we don't use a lot of road salt up here because the roads are bad enough and to put an extra factor of rust on top of that would not be fair...

[@Samuel-gc6js]

8:50 no flipping way!!! Was a great episode. So glad they did it as an hour long speical. Was one of the best

[@milobiddle]

I didn’t realise he was one of the polish gardeners in the ground works special til recently lol

[@ykm15282]

When I watched it for a tenth times then I realized. Wait... Is that Mr Willman?😂

[@HunterEastvern]

My favourite part of that special is when the Polish gardeners leap over the fence near the end 😂😂😂

[@mycarjournal]

There are never enough of the shit boxes being driven cross country in ridiculous challenges

[@bjw4859]

I shall have to finishing all the Grand Tour specials & the road trips, the stunts they got up to were just beyond words, how they got to launch a full scale reliant robin, the paperwork alone would be staggering, but the indestructible Hilux always has a soft spot in my heart, as I have owned 2 & still have my 2nd one parked up under the house, god they were good shows.

[@TheDemocrab]

I know Hiluxes are indestructible but that's no reason to put your house on top of one.

[@bjw4859]

@@TheDemocrab it's a 2 story house, we flood regularly ,where would you store your escape pod ?.

[@TheDemocrab]

@@bjw4859 TG already fixed the problem of flooding. Just make a HoverHouse.

[@buzzytrombone4353]

As a kid before going to bed when I was scared shitless of something from a movie or a video or whatever, I would always sneak up my DVD player and put the specials on to calm me down. Jeremy, James and Richard were and always will be nothing but a form of stress relief for me.

[@UPnDOWN]

Really enjoyed that!

[@marcelimthorn9115]

Massive thanks to andy

[@nikachomaxa5258]

Best show ever ❤️❤️❤️

[@TimmyTheSnail]

I hope there’s so many more specials to come. I honestly loved this last one so much. I love them all tbh!

[@stevewaller6577]

Andy Wilman also used to be a presenter on Top Gear, don't you know.

[@chanjessiet]

I love this episode!

[@UnleashthePhury]

Not since the special with the roads that dropped a thousand feet with no guard rails have I been so convinced I was going to watch one of them bite it. Don’t kill them, Mr Wilman

[@mikiqex]

You mean in Bolivia? It's Cotapata-Santa Bárbara section of the Yungas Road (which itself is a cycle route) and since 2006 it has a paved by-pass, while the special was filmed in 2009. But paved by-pass isn't a good television, is it... Actually, until I saw Mr. Wilman here talking about Alabama I assumed the whole thing was indeed scripted. Alright, maybe they were also truthful that Jeremy's number plate in Patagonia was genuine as well?

[@bcortens]

@@mikiqex it was, BBC found the records for the car showing that it did indeed have that plate since something like 1991…

[@runarandersen878]

This was interesting to listen to.

[@Jack-rj1dq]

top gear talk at 8:14

[@ohb1kenobi859]

This man looks and sounds like a mixture of Clarkson and May

[@RonPiggott]

I really enjoyed this.

[@Jobbery2]

Why don’t they ever discuss the Mongolia special? Clearly by far the best special

[@tobbex7372]

No. Just no.

[@Fantastika]

@@tobbex7372 it is the best special

[@slap_k_man1862]

i want to know why theyve never gone to canada to do a bigger special they did the hammond moutain thing but that had other segments and they did the suv test but they reveiwed other cars and both time they only went to britsh Columbia they show see other bits of canada there hasnt been a full only show things in canada episode

[@vinceventresca6719]

ive been saying this forever, i loved the canadian tire scene in that episode

[@positronicfeed]

Honestly, the specials where old shit cars break down are the most fun.

[@Ben-Rogue]

I think part of what might have caused Mays tunnel crash is the studded snow tires. I don't think he accounted for potential loss of grip

[@mcchicken9878]

We need another 4X4 episode

[@TheHardik112]

They should do a 3 wheel vehicle special 🚗

[@MichaelLoda]

The mastermind legend himself

[@TalosLives]

For me, the moment that changed everything in Top Gear, when they must have realized that there was actually no limit to how outrageous their capers could be, was the Car Boats Redux, where Jeremy's converted pickup truck was sailed across the channel from Dover to Sangatte. Yet I never see any mention of that as any kind of pivotal moment, or even as a particularly memorable one. I'm wondering why that is?......

[@cromBumny]

The NorthPole trip was my favorite

[@HYUKLDER1]

'Seamen' was truly great!

[@applejuice5272]

Love your presenter's hair! 😍😍

[@pattaccone]

Wilman is the goat when it comes to car shows

[@drivingduck2234]

I love to seen andy wilman smoki g a pen... its so relatable

[@ryanfleming7650]

That lady has amazing teeth.

[@MrJimheeren]

Especially for a British person

[@seanbonella]

@@MrJimheeren knob

[@buzzytrombone4353]

@@MrJimheeren Your flannel in your profile picture is the reason why your wife left you

[@MrJimheeren]

@@buzzytrombone4353 gracious me don’t let my girlfriend know

[@buzzytrombone4353]

@@MrJimheeren It's in a public comment section lad, she's bound to find out at some point.

[@mccobsta]

Please buy some foam pads for the walls and a decent microphones

[@TrevorScanlan]

"Can we do old cars break8ng down again" yes do anything with all 3 guys and we will watch. I would pay to have access to all the stuff thats been edited out ffs

[@abc3248y]

im probably misremembering but this interviewer looks very similar to james' driver in our man in italy

[@chrisfullwood6643]

Someone needs to tel the story of Andy Willman and the three stooges.

[@maxarnold2215]

5:55 that’s what we are rooting for

[@bruncebanani8854]

Wow. This russian idea sounds brilliant, what a shame it didn't work out. As far as I'm aware of, TopGear has never really been to russia, which is already strange, given that it is a very exotic, vast country not far from us, that nobody really knows anything about. Sounds like the perfect adventure-location. Unfortunatelly, it seems like this will not be possible in the next decade or so anymore.

[@conallross1694]

They did that Saint Petersburg race, didn’t they?

[@lordgmlp]

Top gears has been to some of the most exotic and, sadly, troublesome places all over the world. Ukraine (including Crimea) years before the 2014 annexation, Myanmar (in the Shan State) Iraq and Syria (1 year before the Syrian Civil war broke out) are examples.

[@neilmiller6214]

Yerrrssssssssss Mr Illman

[@mw...]

stupid amazon rejected my review because i jokingly called Clarkson an 'epic prat'. god forbid Amazon tolerate some innocent humour. eff-ing bollocks!

[@mycroftsanchez901]

Andy Wilman is the Albert Einstein of TV!

[@andiholman2543]

The Automotive George Martin.

[@aydankhaliq2967]

More like motor journalism.

[@squadmeta]

Cotton buds, what a bloody good idea!

[@Teerifficgolf]

If you don’t read this with a James may accent then your in the wrong place

[@flywithtb5005]

Get6 this man a proper camera PLEASE

[@Husabuse]

Vietnam is pure magic.

[@garybarton8261]

Bloody background music! Totally spoilt it

[@РоманАндреев-в4з]

Too bad that it didn't worked out with Russia for you guys, it would have been glorious, I still love St. Petersburg episode

[@garrybaldy327]

I was going to praise her for keeping quiet and letting Andy speak, but I don't think she had any knowledge of the shows they'd done to be able to interrupt him. But anyway, a good interview.

[@Arcturuseyes]

Weeing yourself in despair is a rough time of it I must say...lol

[@PianoPlayerJames]

Would have been better without the distracting 'you are in a queue' hold music in the background.

[@seanbonella]

Vietnam was epic

[@alanpassmore2574]

Total legend. Makes me feel good about being English and how we have a unique way of thinking. Or, at least how nuts we are....

[@johnnyj8136]

Season 1 Episode 1 of the Grand Tour is the best thing Wilman has ever produced period.

[@anameofauser6866]

Did they film this on potatoes?

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

Something gives me the impression Mr. Wilman is true to quit smoking. Again.

[@yellowflash511]

Who is the host? She's so beautiful!

[@yurei3714]

they couldve got a more car person to interview him

[@Theflyingscotsman84]

Mans smoked the life out that pen

[@arnelabuzman5196]

Seamen episode make me hooked to these group. Since then,I was convinced that these people can do anything hilarious..

[@seanbonella]

You missed a lot

[@arnelabuzman5196]

@@seanbonella yeah but i have catched up and watched all episodes of the grand tour. also highlights of their top gear times. im only 30 and didnt know about them during my childhood days.

[@vipecrx]

I love the way they call them specials.... Except that's all they do so they are just regulars...

[@gonata1234]

What's the name of this wonderful interviewer? Please! Thanx!

[@seanbonella]

Behave

[@gonata1234]

@@seanbonella ??

[@heybos4640]

But he isnt wearing a laboratory coat.. weird

[@NomadHassan]

Who's the host?

[@Obliticus]

Amazon quite conservative? It's kind of mind boggling to think people out there consider Amazon "conservative"

[@zknarc]

They are, just not in the US poltical sense.

[@TheLastCrusader22]

By "conservative" he means they are a large, extremely public company very very mindful of their image, and that could potentially lose a lot money if they offend viewers (or non-viewers for that matter), so they have a lot to lose from taking chances. Like most large corporations. Not everything is about politics

[@SomeUserInternet]

@@TheLastCrusader22 exactly that 👍

[@buzzytrombone4353]

@@TheLastCrusader22 They’ll find their groove eventually

[@lewishamilton9251]

no newor fun informatio

[@coopsgti]

"Flu virus"..... respect

[@neilbrown5657]

The grand tour is getting too predictable now and lost its way Can't watch it any more as can see what's will happen before it does

[@12345jammy]

Does he keep smoking his pen?

[@davidc6032]

I thought Scandi Flick was the best of the Grand Tour specials, and up there with some of the better specials on Top Gear.

[@tobbex7372]

0:45 You're lying. How about The Jaaag episode? And The episode in Sweden with the Lambo and the peniscircuit?

[@AkinaCelica]

Those aren't full specials, just little bits

[@upp.social2490]

:d😊

[@ivorharden]

Before I watched the 2007 usa special I thought American life was like the movies e.g romcoms etc but after watching 60 minutes of it I realised how bad the country really is.

[@kidShibuya]

Why has this channel stolen the live line logo?

[@aldoringo439]

I'm not surprised top gear was such a shambles with this guy producing it 😂

[@ConroyMatheson]

lol reconfirming alabama is one of the grossest places ever.

[@seanbonella]

Are you still under COVID not aloud to talk person to person????

[@williamrae9954]

I wrote to Wilman about doing a Christmas Special about doing my job in Arizona... basically American H/D trucks...what we did out there had so many comedic aspects to it, but sadly he never responded... I couldn't wait to see the guys getting their CDL medicals, where you get you 'nuts' checked to see if they're biggest enough for the job :)

[@brettwilliams5594]

Rednecks aren't scary, once they realised that it was a skit and they weren't commies it would have been fine. Probably missed a great BBQ and great footage if it was played different.

[@zjjohnson3827]

Have you played Far Cry 5? Imagine the crazed cultist Peggies, but with big beards and southern accents, and that’s what a redneck is like

[@JamesG89]

Clarkson Hammond and May haven't been funny for years, same old gags being done over and over again. James May by himself seems to be the only one that can carry a show, the other two on there respective shows just come across as dull and stupid

[@TheLastCrusader22]

And yet here you are, commenting on matters concerning the three of them. No one cares about your opinion. Bugger off

[@buzzytrombone4353]

@@TheLastCrusader22 He was probably circumcised when he was two

[@moaningpheromones]

*their

[@JamesG89]

@@moaningpheromones you must be a teacher

[@clairevero]

Put your teeth away woman