Jem Stansfield
{{Short description|British Engineer, Inventor and Television Presenter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jem Stansfield
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Jeremy Stansfield
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1970|12}}{{cite web |title=Jem STANSFIELD |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/70GxVA1Vv8TcEzcYqCuYr1heBLk/appointments |website=Gov.uk |publisher=Companies House |access-date=1 October 2021}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| occupation = {{Unbulleted list | Engineer | Television Presenter }}
| years_active = 2001–present
| alma_mater = Bristol University
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Jeremy Stansfield (born 1970) is a British engineer and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC One science show Bang Goes the Theory.
Career
Stansfield has a degree in aeronautics from Bristol University and, before his television career, worked in a Czech school, as a shepherd in the Australian outback, and briefly in stand-up comedy.{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-88451686 |title=Wacky Inventor Jem Stansfield Creates Amazing Gadgets to Make Kids' Dreams Come True in a New TV Series |publisher= |work=Daily Mirror |date=2002-07-06 |first=Vicki |last=Grimshaw}}{{dl|date=July 2021}} Stansfield was an on-screen ballistics expert for the television show Scrapheap Challenge and went on to become a permanent part of the engineering team for subsequent series.{{cite web|url=http://natgeotv.com/uk/planet-mechanics/planet-mechanic-bios |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513173616/http://natgeotv.com/uk/planet-mechanics/planet-mechanic-bios |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2010 |title=BIOGRAPHIES: Planet Mechanics |publisher=National Geographic Channel |date= |accessdate=2014-03-18}}{{cite web|first=Julie |last=Gould |url=http://speakingofscience.juliegould.net/science-communication/speaking-to-jem-stansfield/ |title=Speaking to... Jem Stansfield |publisher=Speaking of Science |date=November 2013 |accessdate=2014-03-18}}
Among his inventions are a compressed-air powered motorcycle, and boots that walk on water (for which he won a New Scientist prize).{{cite news|last=Hough |first=Andrew |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7246872/Jem-Stansfield-human-spiderman-scales-30-ft-wall-using-only-vacuum-cleaner-suctions.html |title=Jem Stansfield: 'human spiderman' scales 30 ft wall using only vacuum cleaner suctions |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2010-02-16 |accessdate=2014-03-18}}
In 2010, Stansfield used vacuum cleaners to create "Spider-Man style" climbing gloves, climbing 30 feet up a brick wall.{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5322714/british-man-climbs-up-side-of-building-using-diy-vacuum-gloves?op=showcustomobject&postId=5322714&item=0 |title=British Man Climbs Up Side of Building Using DIY Vacuum Gloves |work=Gizmodo |date=2009-07-25 |first=Dan |last=Nosowitz |accessdate=2014-03-18}} He also drove a modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco 210 miles from London to Manchester using coffee granules for fuel.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8560000/8560599.stm |title=Bang goes the coffee in drive for science in Manchester |publisher=BBC News |date=2010-03-11 |accessdate=2014-03-18}}{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2010/03/11/tv-hosts-coffee-car-nears-finish-170100/ |title=TV host's coffee car nears finish |work=Metro |date=2010-03-11 |accessdate=2014-03-18}}
In 2013 Stansfield sustained injuries during filming of a segment for the series Bang Goes the Theory. The segment was about the safety of front-facing and rear-facing seats in car crashes. Stansfield was in a cart which crashed, simulating the impact of a car hitting a lamppost and suffered from spine and brain injuries as a result.
In 2021 Stansfield was awarded £1.6m in damages after a High Court battle.{{cite news |title=Jeremy Stansfield: Bang Goes The Theory host wins £1.6m BBC damages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58762935 |access-date=1 October 2021 |work=BBC News |date=1 October 2021}} It emerged in court that the BBC had been warned of the dangers by crash test experts but this information was never passed to Stansfield.
Filmography
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Credit ! Notes |
|---|
| 2001–2003
|Presenter | |
| 2002–2003
|Home On Their Own | |
| 2004
|Zero to Hero |Engineer | |
| 2006
|Staff Engineer |Briefly credited as "Ballistics Expert" |
| 2006
| | |
| 2006
|Wild Thing: I Love You |Presenter / Aeronautical Engineer | |
| 2008
|Presenter |8 episodes |
| 2009–2014
|Presenter / Head of Engineering |49 episodes |
| 2010
|Explosions: How We Shook the World |Presenter |Documentary |
| 2010
|Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention |Science correspondent | |
| 2011
|Big, Bigger, Biggest |Presenter / Engineer |4 episodes |
| 2012
|Presenter |April 2012 episode entitled "Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials" |
| 2012
|Stargazing Challenges |Presenter | |
| 2013
|Judge |for "You Too Could be an Absolute Genius" segment |
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Credit ! Notes |
|---|
| 1998
|Special effects technician |For Magic Camera Company |
| 1998
|Special effects | |
| 2004
|Special effects | |
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0822698}}
{{Portal bar |United Kingdom |Biography}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stansfield, Jem}}