The creator of the original Top Gear series has died.
Derek Smith - who launched the motoring series on the BBC in 1977 - passed away last week at the age of 87.
While he is best known for his work on Top Gear, Smith also worked on competition series Now Get Out of That, aircraft documentary The Flight Deck Story and Mini, a film to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the British car brand in 1979.
The original Top Gear debuted on BBC Midlands as a magazine programme looking at cars and road safety, but went on to grow into a national programme fronted by Angela Rippon.
The show was cancelled by the BBC in 2001, but relaunched a year later as a one-hour studio-based programme with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe. James May joined the show in 2003.
Smith's son Graham wrote in an obituary on The Guardian: "He was a character,...
Derek Smith - who launched the motoring series on the BBC in 1977 - passed away last week at the age of 87.
While he is best known for his work on Top Gear, Smith also worked on competition series Now Get Out of That, aircraft documentary The Flight Deck Story and Mini, a film to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the British car brand in 1979.
The original Top Gear debuted on BBC Midlands as a magazine programme looking at cars and road safety, but went on to grow into a national programme fronted by Angela Rippon.
The show was cancelled by the BBC in 2001, but relaunched a year later as a one-hour studio-based programme with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe. James May joined the show in 2003.
Smith's son Graham wrote in an obituary on The Guardian: "He was a character,...
- 4/7/2015
- Digital Spy
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