Bio
Ant Anstead is best known for hosting car-centric television shows.
The British native now resides full time in the US and his background is as varied as it is impressive.
Ant joined the police force in 1999 at age 18, a decision that would dramatically impact his life. In 2003, he was appointed one of the youngest Tactical Firearms Team officers in UK history, receiving two commendations for acts of bravery. In 2005 Ant followed his passion into the automotive world.
Anstead funded his car based solo start up playing semi-professional football (soccer), amassing over 700 games over 17 years. Making history again, he was the only player to win Ryman League promotions in two positions – goalkeeper and striker.
From humble beginnings, when starting out, Ant renovated a farmer’s derelict cow shed in return for one year’s free rent, and from this new workshop he built his business. After three years at the farm on his own, Ant’s business took off and he moved to new larger premises and built a team of car builders. Ant built bespoke cars and one-off pieces of art for clients and collectors all over the world. As his reputation grew, Anstead attracted the attention of various television networks.
TELEVISION CAREER
After initially turning down an offer to appear on British television, Ant finally agreed, when approached, to co-host For the Love of Cars in 2013. Ant’s versatility and natural on-camera presence allowed him to host TV shows in car, travel, engineering, homes and art categories as well several Live TV gigs too. By 2020, he had hosted 16 different TV shows, and is currently working on five more. (See below)
Anstead is well known to only take on projects that fascinate him, having turned down more than he’s done. He moved to the United States in 2017 to host Wheeler Dealers, the number one, most distributed show on The Discovery Channel.
He established Angel 22, his own production company. Ant’s extensive repertoire of television shows includes: For the Love of Cars (2014-2015), Building Cars Live (2015), New York: America’s Busiest City (2016), The Lost Lotus: Restoring a Race Car (2016), Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth (2016), Craft: I Made This (2016), Worlds Most Expensive Cars (2017), Britain’s Greatest Invention (2017), Craft It Yourself (2017), Sunday Brunch Live (2017), Barrett-Jackson Live Auto Auction (2018), Wheeler Dealers (2017-2019), Ant Anstead Master Mechanic (2019), Barrett-Jackson Live (2019), HGTV’s Christina on the Coast (2019), World’s Greatest Cars (2020), Ant Anstead Working from Home (2020).
To check out Ant’s IMDb page please click here.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
Offscreen, Ant has accomplished various notable achievements including nine World Records for car builds. He also built the world’s largest Airfix auto model, which was featured in a 2011 Ripley’s Believe it or Not book. With writing as another lifelong devotion, Ant has authored three books – Cops and Robbers: The Story of the British Police Car, (HarperCollins 2018); Petrol Head Parenting: The Essential Guide to Diagnosing and Nurturing a Petrol Head, (Great Flood Publishing, 2018). As a father of three, Ant believes it’s important to program children to read. In 2021 Ants latest book How to Build a Special, will be the last ever published title by the fabled Haynes publishing house.
As a supporter of several charities, Ant is a patron of Harrison’s Fund Charity.
COMPANIES ANT’S INVOLVED WITH
