“The Grand Tour” producer Andy Wilman says the seeds for his success were sown at school — which he attended with Jeremy Clarkson.
“I went to school with him which is like, argh,” Wilman revealed. “But we didn’t plan any of this when we were at school, obviously not. We do have a synergy. Some of it did come from school… we never sat down and planned a hit because I don’t think we were clever enough to do that. ‘Top Gear’ became that big but it was by accident.”
Wilman co-created Jeremy Clarkson motoring show “Top Gear” before jumping ship with Clarkson when he was fired by the BBC, moving to Prime Video where they launched a new motoring show called “The Grand Tour.” Wilman also produces “Clarkson’s Farm” among other series.
“Jeremy and I are like a couple of old blokes who started a baker’s shop and then it becomes the size of [department store] Selfridges and you’re like ‘Oh fuck,’” he added.
The producer was speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in London where he was appearing on a panel titled “The Hitmakers” alongside “Happy Valley” producer Nicola Shindler.
Both Wilman and Shindler discussed snobbery in the industry and how having a tabloid or soap sensibility could inform high-end unscripted and drama. “Jeremy’s a tabloid print journalist first and foremast and that element’s never left it,” Wilman said.
Shindler runs independent producer Quay Street Productions, which recently had a hit with Harlan Coban adaptation “Fool Me Once.” It also has two further Coban adaptations in development, “Missing You” and “Run Away.”
Of building her nose for a story, she said: “I always watched masses of television. I grew up with the soaps on the whole time.” She also pointed out that her frequent collaborator, “Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T. Davies, also started off in soaps. The two went on to create award-winning AIDS drama “It’s A Sin” together.
“The people I work with are passionate about television and want to make popular shows so if you say to them ‘It’s too long, you have to throw out some things that they love’ [then they will] she said.
Wilman said that Clarkson can also be ruthless about cutting his shows. “If I send him a cut of the film and say ’10 minutes has to come off of that’ [he’ll cut it],” Wilman said. “If I send it to [The Grand Tour co-star] James May he wants to put 10 more in.”
Curve Media CEO Camilla Lewis chaired the panel.
Other speakers at the Royal Television society conference, which is hosted by Netflix this year, including David Beckham, Ted Sarandos and culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
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