Henry Cole (presenter)
{{Short description|British TV presenter and producer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Henry Cole
| image = Henry Cole Bonneville Salt Flats.jpg
| caption = Henry Cole on the Brough Superior SS100 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2013
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|02|16|df=y}}
| occupation = * TV presenter, producer, and director
- CEO of Gladstone Motorcycles
| notable_works = * World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides
- The Motorbike Show
- Shed and Buried
- Find It, Fix It, Flog It
- Find It, Fix It, Drive It
- Junk and Disorderly
}}
Henry Cole (born 16 February 1964){{citation needed|date=March 2025}} is an English TV presenter, producer and director. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.classicmotorcycle.co.uk/a-brief-chat-with-henry-cole/|title=A brief chat with… Henry Cole - The Classic Motorcycle|first=Sam|last=Hewitt|date=1 July 2020|access-date=20 July 2021}} Cole is also the founder and CEO of bespoke motorcycle manufacturer Gladstone Motorcycles, named after his great uncle Dick "Red Beard" Gladstone.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gladstonemotorcycles.com/about/|title=About Gladstone Motorcycles|website=www.gladstonemotorcycles.com|access-date=20 July 2021}}
Early life
Cole was born in February 1964.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} His great-great-great-great uncle was William Ewart Gladstone, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} He was educated at Eton College, where he was a contemporary of Boris Johnson. He was a heroin addict for five years, but has been clean since 1988.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fame-fortune/tv-star-henry-colei-got-drugs-delivered-dispatch-riders/|title=TV star Henry Cole: 'I got drugs delivered by dispatch riders'|first=Angela|last=Wintle|date=3 February 2019|via=www.telegraph.co.uk|access-date=20 July 2021}}
Career
He started as a news cameraman for channels including ITV and TF1 and progressed to making rockumentaries, primarily with heavy rock bands,{{cite web |title=Henry Cole |url=https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=8387 |publisher=TVSA |access-date=14 September 2021}} then directing TV commercials, and finally directing films, such as the semi-autobiographical Mad Dogs and Englishmen with Elizabeth Hurley.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cycleworld.com/henry-cole-british-tv-presenter-bike-building-evangelist/|title=Henry Cole: A Discerning Hooligan|website=Cycle World|access-date=20 July 2021}}
= HCA Entertainment =
Founded by Cole in 1995, HCA Entertainment is an independent television production company, specialising in factual entertainment programmes that have appeared on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Discovery and Quest in the UK.{{Cite web|url=https://hcaentertainment.com/about-us/|title=About Us|publisher=HCA Entertainment | access-date=16 December 2021}}
World records
In 2013 Cole set a world land speed record for a pre-1955 750cc motorcycle, riding a Brough Superior at 99.78mph{{Cite web |last=Superior |first=Brough |title=Brough Superior Bonneville 2013 |url=https://brough-superior.com/de/heritage/bonneville-2013 |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=brough-superior.com |language=}} on the Bonneville Salt Flats.{{Cite web|url=https://silodrome.com/brough-superior-ss100-750-baby-pendine/|title=World Speed Record Holder: Brough Superior "Baby Pendine"|publisher=Silodrome |access-date=26 December 2022}}
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 {{convert|183.5|mph}} gave them a clear margin over American couple Erin Hunter and Andy Sills, who reached {{convert|181.42|mph}} at Bonneville Salt Flats in 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/101327-fastest-tandem-motorcycle|title=Fastest speed achieved by a tandem motorcycle | Guinness World Records}}
Books
Henry Cole has written three books: A Biker's Life (2018){{cite book|title=A Biker's Life: Misadventures on (and off) Two Wheels|first=Henry|last=Cole|publisher=Quercus|date=18 October 2018|isbn=978-1787471047}} and The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds (2020).{{cite book|title=The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds|first=Henry|last=Cole|publisher=Quercus|date=17 September 2020|isbn=978-1529406559}}
Riding Route 66 (2024)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://henrycole.tv https://henrycole.tv] - Official Henry Cole website
- [http://www.gladstonemotorcycles.com http://www.gladstonemotorcycles.com] - Gladstone Motorcycles website
- [https://hcaentertainment.com https://hcaentertainment.com] - HCA Entertainment Ltd ([https://hcaentertainment.com/about-us about-us website])
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Henry}}
Category:English television presenters
Category:People educated at Eton College
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