Henry Cole (presenter)

Henry Cole
Henry Cole on the Brough Superior SS100 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2013
BornFebruary 1964[1]
Occupations
Notable work
  • 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 February 1964) 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 custom bike engineer Allen Millyard and lifelong friend Guy Willison, and in the main are produced by his own production company, HCA Entertainment.[2] Cole is also the founder and CEO of bespoke motorcycle manufacturer Gladstone Motorcycles, named after his great-uncle Dick "Red Beard" Gladstone.[3]

Early life

Cole was born in February 1964. His great-great-great-great-uncle was William Ewart Gladstone, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[4] 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.[5]

Career

He started as a news cameraman for channels including ITV and TF1. He progressed to making rockumentaries, primarily with heavy rock bands,[6] then directing TV commercials, and finally directing films, such as the semi-autobiographical Mad Dogs and Englishmen with Elizabeth Hurley.[7] After the failure of Mad Dogs and Englishmen at the box office, Cole pitched to Channel 5 a new programme, Stars and Cars, but wanted to host it. Channel 5 were not keen, so Cole offered to make a pilot first Christmas special for free, and if it rated they would commission the series. The programme was a success and ran for 5 years.[8]

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.[9] Programmes produced by HCA and directed by Cole include:

  • Grime Fighters
  • Kensington Wives
  • Men Brewing Badly
  • London's Greatest Hits
  • Supersize Grime
  • The Skulls of Sanctuary
  • Frontline Stories
  • Discovering Gardens
  • The Real Filth Fighters

List of presented TV programmes

Cole has presented the following programmes made by HCA:

World records

In 2013 Cole set a world land speed record for a pre-1955 750cc motorcycle, riding a Brough Superior at 99.78mph[17] on the Bonneville Salt Flats.[18]

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 183.5 miles per hour (295.3 km/h) gave them a clear margin over American couple Erin Hunter and Andy Sills, who reached 181.42 miles per hour (291.97 km/h) at Bonneville Salt Flats in 2011.[19]

Books

Henry Cole has written three books: A Biker's Life (2018)[20] and The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds (2020).[21] Riding Route 66 (2024)

Personal life

Between the age of 19 and 24, Cole battled an addiction to Heroin.[16] He is married to Janie, and has two sons, Charlie and Tom. Cole's dog, Jelly Bean, a Norwich Terrier, appears on many of his TV programmes.[16][8]

References

  1. ^ "Henry COLE". Company House. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  2. ^ Hewitt, Sam (1 July 2020). "A brief chat with… Henry Cole - The Classic Motorcycle". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ^ "About Gladstone Motorcycles". www.gladstonemotorcycles.com. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Henry Cole - Tales of life lived at full throttle by rebel without a cause". The Yorkshire Post. 17 October 2018.
  5. ^ Wintle, Angela (3 February 2019). "TV star Henry Cole: 'I got drugs delivered by dispatch riders'". Retrieved 20 July 2021 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ "Henry Cole". TVSA. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Henry Cole: A Discerning Hooligan". Cycle World. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Meet Henry Cole, one of British biking's most recognisable faces". Adventure Bike Rider. 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ "About Us". HCA Entertainment. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Jay Kay on Sats and Cars 1999". Youtube. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  11. ^ "The Motorbike Show roars back on screen". Superbike News. 8 November 2024.
  12. ^ "World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides with Henry Cole". Back Street Heroes. 16 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Interview: Henry Cole". Adventure Bike Rider. 30 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Shed and Buried". The Classic Motorcycle. 21 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Find It Fix It Flog It Series 5". Motorcycle News. 29 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e "An Evening with Henry Cole". Queen's Hall Arts Centre. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  17. ^ Superior, Brough. "Brough Superior Bonneville 2013". brough-superior.com. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  18. ^ "World Speed Record Holder: Brough Superior "Baby Pendine"". Silodrome. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Fastest speed achieved by a tandem motorcycle | Guinness World Records".
  20. ^ Cole, Henry (18 October 2018). A Biker's Life: Misadventures on (and off) Two Wheels. Quercus. ISBN 978-1787471047.
  21. ^ Cole, Henry (17 September 2020). The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds. Quercus. ISBN 978-1529406559.


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