Ant Anstead

Ant Anstead is best known for hosting car-centric television shows. The British native now resides full time in the U.S., and his background is as varied as it is impressive.

Anstead joined the police force in 1999 at age 18, a decision that dramatically impacted his life. In 2003, he was appointed one of the youngest tactical firearms team officers in U.K. history, receiving two commendations for acts of bravery. In 2005, Anstead followed his passion into the automotive world. Anstead funded his car-based solo startup by playing semi-professional football (soccer), amassing more than 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, Anstead renovated a farmer’s derelict cow shed in return for one year’s free rent, and from this new workshop, he built his business. Anstead 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.

Anstead became the co-host of “For the Love of Cars” in 2013. Anstead’s versatility and natural on-camera presence allowed him to host TV shows in car, travel, engineering, homes and art categories, as well as several live TV gigs. By 2020, he had hosted 16 different TV shows and is currently working on five more. Anstead is well known to only take on projects that fascinate him, having turned down more than he’s done. He moved to the U.S. in 2017 to host “Wheeler Dealers,” the No. 1 most-distributed show on the Discovery Channel.

He established Angel 22, his own production company. Anstead’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), “World’s 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), and “Ant Anstead Working from Home” (2020).

Offscreen, Anstead 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, Anstead 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); and How to Build a Special (2021), the last title published by Haynes Publishing.

As a father of three, Anstead believes it’s important to encourage children to read. In 2021, his latest book, How to Build a Special, marked the end of Haynes Publishing's legacy.