Britain's Worst Driver

Did You Know?

• In series 2, Daz won £10,000 in cash after his modified Vauxhall Nova was blown up, and he bought a base BMW E36 318.
• Arif won the booby prize of a Lada Riva in series 1, while Sharon won an MG TF.
• In series 2, after Daz was eliminated, the Smart Roadster disappeared from the car selection.
• Janice won the grand prize of a Jaguar X-Type in the final episode of series 2 because none of the contestants had improved prior.

Format

From 2002 to 2005, Channel 5 aired a show called Britain's Worst Driver, hosted by former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson and produced by Mentorn. Most of the filming took place at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. Each series began with eight drivers, nominated by their own friends and family as the worst on the road. These contestants got a chance to win back their driving licenses by completing a series of driving tests, judged by a panel that included a motor accident investigator, a behavioural psychologist, a motor insurance group CEO, and motoring journalist Vicki Butler-Henderson. The contestant who performed the worst across the whole series was crowned Britain's Worst Driver.

Every episode gave the drivers extra coaching, followed by driving challenges to test their progress. The judge who showed the most improvement was sent home with a brand new car and a course of additional driving lessons. Comedian Tim Key, known as 'Timid Tim' for his extremely cautious driving, appeared in the first series. He won the third episode, meaning he was the second contestant eliminated, but sold his prize, a Ford Ka, after just one week. He later said he needed the cash and saw the show as a way to profit from the car.

The first series featured Arif Patel, Becky Francis, Craig Dean, Joseph Youssefi, Kay Brown, Sharon Welburn, Tim Key, and Valli Holland. The second series had Brian, Carol, Chris, Janice, Daz, Rita, Karl, and Nikki, who left the show in episode five. Kay Brown was named Britain's Worst Driver in series one, and Brian Scrivener took that title in series two.

In the first series, Joseph became the first rehabilitated driver, winning a Rover 75. Later, Tim got a Ford Ka, Valli won a Suzuki Jimny, and Arif received the booby prize: a Lada Riva. Sharon ended up winning an MG TF. In the second series, Chris was the first to get a car, a classic Mini, followed by Karl, who won the then-new Mini One. In episode four, Daz won £10,000 in cash because his modified Vauxhall Nova had blown up; he used the money to buy a base BMW E36 318. After Nikki left, Rita won an Austin Allegro, and Janice took the grand prize of a Jaguar X-Type in the final episode, since none of the other contestants had shown enough improvement before that. Once Daz was eliminated, the Smart Roadster was removed from the list of available cars.