Henry Cole (born 16 February 1964) is an English

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

, producer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. On television he is best known for ''World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides'', ''The Motorbike Show'', ''Shed and Buried'', and ''Find It, Fix It, Flog It''. Many of these feature Allen Millyard and in the main are produced by his own production company, HCA Entertainment. Cole is also the founder and CEO of bespoke

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

manufacturer Gladstone Motorcycles, named after his great-uncle Dick "Red Beard" Gladstone.

Early life

Cole was born in February 1964. His great-great-great-great-uncle was

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, the former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he was a contemporary of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

. He was a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

addict for five years, but has been clean since 1988.

Career

He started as a news cameraman for channels including ITV and

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

and progressed to making

rockumentaries A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history One ...

, primarily with heavy rock bands, then directing TV commercials, and finally directing films, such as the semi-autobiographical '' Mad Dogs and Englishmen'' with

Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model. Her best-known film roles are Vanessa Kensington in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in '' Bedazzled'' (2000).Brough Superior Brough Superior ( ) motorcycles, sidecars, and motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. The motorcycles were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles" by H. D. ...

at 99.78mph on the

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah, United States. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land ma ...

. On 25 May 2023 Cole rode pillion with Allen Millyard on his Viper V10 home-built motorcycle at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire, to set a new Guinness World Record for the “fastest tandem motorcycle”. Their top speed of gave them a clear margin over American couple Erin Hunter and Andy Sills, who reached at Bonneville Salt Flats in 2011.

Books

Henry Cole has written three books: ''A Biker's Life'' (2018) and ''The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds'' (2020). Riding Route 66 (2024)

Early life

Career

Books

References

External links