Mike Brewer was offered a presenting role on Top Gear in the late 90s after his success on Channel 4 show Driven, but turned it down after a heated exchange with Jeremy Clarkson
Television presenter Mike Wheeler has revealed details of a heated “argument” he experienced with Jeremy Clarkson prior to making a pivotal career choice. Mike, 60, has fronted numerous motoring television programmes throughout his career.
In 1998, Mike became one of the hosts of Driven on Channel 4 alongside James May and Jason Barlow. The programme was launched with the intention of challenging the long-established BBC series Top Gear.
It was recorded with the trio of presenters together before a live studio audience, with vehicles being tested on a racetrack at the location. These elements were subsequently adopted in the revamped Top Gear.
Speaking on the Talkin’ Shop podcast, Mike disclosed he was approached for a position on Top Gear following Driven’s success. This came after co-hosts James and Jason had already been recruited by BBC executives.
He explained: “If you look at the very last iteration of Driven that was on Channel 4, it was filmed in a live studio with an audience and we had a racetrack outside and there were three presenters. The very first series of this new Top Gear started and what did that look like, it was exactly the same format.”
“We hit upon the success of that format and we sort of handed it back if you like. At that point I was offered Top Gear again by Andy Wilman and Gary Hunter.
“I’d just, six months previously, been filming for Driven in Morocco and was filming a Renault Scenic 4x launch, and the Renault press officer was a guy called Richard Hammond. We got on like a house on fire, we got drunk together several times and just hit it off and had a laugh and then when I was offered the job of Top Gear, I went along for the screentest with Jeremy, we had an argument on the day and everyone thought it was hilarious us two egos if you like, and they thought it was great television.”
Mike revealed it was at that point when another broadcaster approached him with an enticing proposition for his own programme, reports the Express.
He said: “I was also offered a role on this little weeny channel that no one had heard of called the Discovery Channel and they came and said, ‘You can have your own car show’.
“And I’m being offered Top Gear, which wasn’t very good, the previous version wasn’t very good, I could see they were going to copy the format of Driven, and I’d just come out of Driven.”
Mike subsequently created Wheeler Dealers, a programme where he purchases a second-hand vehicle, restores it, and then attempts to flog it for a profit. The show ran for 18 series, with its final episode broadcast in 2023.