• Edd China left “Wheeler Dealers” after 13 seasons due to disagreements with the new producers, Velocity, over production changes.
• Mike Brewer, Edd’s co-host, received death threats from fans as a result of the altercation.
• Edd has gone on to post content on YouTube and write a book, Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts.
• Edd is now breaking speed records with a motorized furniture invention.
• He graduated with a degree in Engineering and Product Design from London South Bank University.
When Edd China suddenly decided to leave “Wheeler Dealers” after 13 seasons, you bet something downright shameful happened between him and his co-host, or between him and the producers. The British eccentric mechanic restored cars on a budget in the weekly car series, which also starred TV presenter Mike Brewer and aired on the Discovery Channel in 2003.
The show was a huge hit and even had a spin-off series, leaving many wondering why on earth Edd chose not to return for the 14th season.
Well, it seems that the new producers, Velocity, wanted to make some major changes to the show’s programming to lower production costs, which Edd didn’t like at all. He said“Unfortunately, on Velocity’s first attempt at producing the show, they found Wheeler Dealers too difficult to make, at least in its current format.”
Edd loves having detailed coverage of how he fixes a car, which helps him gain more fans as the show stays true to the DIY (DYI) concept, which has been paramount since day one.
He dislikes the producers editing what they actually do in the workshop, feeling it undermined both his work and his integrity. His last words were “…so I’ve come to the conclusion that my only option is to let Velocity take its course, without me.” It was a straightforward explanation without the usual drama or scandal that comes with the resignation or termination of the show’s main star; it was an acceptable explanation. No bad vibes, right?
The show decided to get another car builder, Ant Anstead, as his replacement. Edd, on the other hand, seems to be doing just fine on his own, creating content and posting videos to YouTube with over 19 million total views.
It seemed everyone got rid of it until Edd learned from Mike that he had been receiving death threats online, and the worst part is that the internet abuse wasn’t limited to him, but also to his entire family.
Apparently, the fans haven’t moved on yet and turned their anger on Mike over Edd’s refusal to join the crew for season 14. Some fans felt that Mike should have turned down the program content review. The two may not agree on the production changes, but Edd didn’t like it death threats cool, and urged fans to just support both of their decisions. Edd further elaborated on this issue by saying, “Is he my favorite person right now?” Well, probably not. And I’m sure I’m not his. But that’s okay; we are both adults and we will get over it. We will get over this and we will be fine.”
If they’re on good terms, why would the fans attack Mike and his family? It seems a little odd until you dig up Mike’s previous tweet, which reads, “Edd left, didn’t say anything, just quit the show and threw it away after 13 years… who’s the traitor?” It was immediately deleted, but internet nerds had already taken a screenshot of the tweet. Mike also previously refuted Edd’s claim that the Discovery Channel had decided to downsize the show’s workshop segment.
He continued during an interview at a Connecticut auto show: “When he did some very bad things, it meant the Discovery Channel just couldn’t work with him. So they gave him the option to leave, and he took it.” While it’s never a good thing to threaten someone with death, at least we now know why some fans were upset about the whole issue.
Edd China took the higher road and kept the feud to a minimum to likely prevent his family from getting involved in the disaster drama.
Engineer, designer, inventor and now author! How did that happen? I am very excited to reveal the cover of my #GreaseJunkieBook https://t.co/VGg4DL5cup pic.twitter.com/YI7bQ9tVDy
— Edd China (@TheEddChina) January 28, 2019
He is married to Imogen China and his father-in-law is one of the famous stunt directors in Hollywood. Edd focused on producing car content and posting it to YouTube. His pilot episode for his YouTube show “Edd China’s Garage Revivial” got just over three million views. However, he decided to focus more on writing books, and in August 2019, the hardback edition of his autobiography, Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts, was released.
It reached the top of the book sales charts in the UK, so the paperback edition was later released.
He is currently working on breaking some speed records, such as he talked to people from Guinness Book of World Records to discuss the parameters. He will do the same as with his popular Casual Driving Sofa. This wacky inventor graduated with a degree in Engineering and Product Design from South Bank University in London, and he would no doubt shock the world again by driving his new outrageous motorized furniture down the speedway.
