Top Gear

The passing of a Top Gear legend

Things have been hectic in the world of Top Gear over the past few weeks – what with both Jeremy Clarkson’s job and the show’s future both hanging in the balance. Without Jeremy it seems, Top Gear surely could not go on. Jeremy Clarkson is Top Gear. But all of that needs to be put aside for a moment, because I feel something far more important has been overlooked.

Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman deserve all the credit they have received for the work they’ve put into Top Gear, taking what was a pokey BBC motoring show and turning it into one of the biggest television programmes on the planet.

But there’s another man who deserves even more credit, because without him Top Gear as you know it today probably wouldn’t exist.

Derek Smith

April 16, 1927 – March 17, 2015

 

The world has lost the true father of Top Gear, Derek Smith, who died of natural causes last week. He was aged 87.

Derek’s professional career began when he joined BBC West Midlands in 1957, working out of the corporation’s offices on Carpenter Road, Edgbaston. It was there that he produced films about the Armed Forces, among them the 1964 documentary Soldier in the Sun about the Royal Anglian Regiment in Aden and Yemen. He also made a documentary in 1969 about the history of the aircraft carrier called The Flight Deck Story, which he shot on board HMS Eagle and USS Enterprise off the coast of Vietnam.

bbc-pebble-mill

In 1971, BBC West Midlands had outgrown their existing facilities and moved into a new integrated studio complex, Pebble Mill Studios. Pebble Mill became iconic because it was responsible for producing some of the most popular television programming of the 1970s – something Derek was about to play a major part in.

In March 1977, it is said that Derek looked out from his office across the car park and thought the BBC should do a motoring and car show, containing items on all motoring matters such as road safety and car tests. Derek began brainstorming ideas for the show and eventually gained approval, creating a new series for BBC Midlands. The name would be Top Gear.

Derek’s son Graham recalls a pivotal moment in which his father came to him for advice on the show’s title music:

“He came home and asked me if I had any ideas for the titles music. I suggested an Allman Brothers instrumental from an album I had.

“He said ‘Yes, that will do, write down the details’ and then he went into the BBC record library to make a copy.”

That Allman Brothers instrumental track was Jessica, and it has been used for the opening sequence of Top Gear for almost 40 years.

With Derek as Executive Producer, Top Gear started as a 30-minute programme aired monthly across the Midlands region. Staying true to the original concept, the programme covered motoring related issues such as new car road tests, fuel economy, safety, the police, speeding, insurance, second-hand cars and holiday touring. Whilst there were only nine programmes in that initial series, Top Gear showed great potential.

On July 13 1978, Top Gear moved to BBC2 and began airing weekly 30-minute episodes across the UK. Derek remained as Executive Producer, along with Angela Rippon as presenter along with co-presenter Barrie Gill. The first network series featured items such as Holiday Driving, Police Driver Training, the MOT test and a Search for a Female Rally Driver. Other items in that series covered drink driving, traffic jams, rust and corrosion, tachographs in lorries the Le Mans 24 Hour Race and the Motor Show.

In the 1980’s Derek developed the programme further – branching out to cover subjects such as child car safety, tyres, CB radio, weighing lorries and junior grasstrack racing. Various reporters were also brought on-board, including Mike Dornan, Judith Jackson and Barrie Gill. Local TV presenter Noel Edmonds was also introduced to the programme and performed road tests on new cars each week. Derek won the Conoco Jet award for Best Motoring TV programme in 1980 and continued on as the series producer until 1986.

derek-smith-conoco-jet-award-best-motoring-programme-1980

Derek’s son Graham, now 59 and living in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said of his father:

“He conceived these programmes because he was in a wonderful position as a BBC producer. He felt he had the best job in the world.

He could think of an idea for a programme and he would be allowed to go and make it. It’s a tribute to him that such a diverse range of subjects became successful programmes.”

top-gear-derek-smith-dies

Make no mistake, as Top Gear fans we owe everything to Derek for creating the show almost 40 years ago. While Top Gear may have changed substantially since he left the show in 1986, I think that his vision and determination in creating the original concept should be appreciated and remembered. Because without him, Top Gear as we know it today would simply not exist – and that’s a world I’m sure none of us would like to live in.

I’d like to thank Vanessa Jackson from What Was Pebble Mill and cameraman Jim Knights for granting permission for his photos to be used in this article.

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15 comments

Graham Smith March 27, 2015 at 4:33 pm

Hello Sean, Thanks so much for a lovely article on my father. He will be remembered for creating the original TG, but he was an ideas man and his body of work is amazing to look back on. Derek also made the spin-offs, Kick Start and Rally Report. I have his cuttings relating to the first two or three seasons of TG, with details on each show. It was a different programme then, but still had very good audience figures.

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Igor Hidalgo March 27, 2015 at 12:11 am

NETFLIX… open your eyes… this is mooooney for suuuure!

Reply
Waqas Ahmed March 25, 2015 at 5:20 pm

Richard Hammond tweeted 2 hours ago:
“Gutted at such a sad end to an
era. We’re all three of us idiots in our different ways but it’s been an
incredible ride together”

🙁

Reply
dcondankz68 March 25, 2015 at 4:58 pm

So sad so sad. it’s a sad sad situation 🙁

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EndofaneraTGfan March 25, 2015 at 4:08 pm

Someone should get the BBC to release all Top Gear (1977-2001) episodes for us to watch. As a die-hard Top Gear fan (who is very sad right now), I would be tempted to watch every old episode in full.
You can’t find much of Old Top Gear online right now other than a few clips on youtube.

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Scooby March 25, 2015 at 2:09 pm

Clarkson gone , also so sad . I doubt the other two will stay.

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the guy with no name March 25, 2015 at 4:20 pm

Jezza is gone and so is Cpt Slow, no word on Hamster yet.

Reply
Waqas Ahmed March 25, 2015 at 5:20 pm

Richard Hammond tweeted 2 hours ago:
Gutted at such a sad end to an era. We’re all three of us idiots in our different ways but it’s been an incredible ride together.
🙁

Reply
Scooby March 25, 2015 at 5:37 pm

Come on itv snap up these 3 talented presenters with a new car show of their own only downside it would be 42 minutes or so because of the adverts .

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the guy with no name March 26, 2015 at 8:17 am

NOT ITV, X factor and TG should NEVER be aired on the same channel. I’d rather have Sky air TG or Channel 5 (in the UK).

Waqas Ahmed March 27, 2015 at 3:20 pm

Sales won’t be affected then 😀 You people made my day. I hope this will happen 🙂

the guy with no name March 25, 2015 at 7:53 am

Goodbye Derek and thank you for all the epicness

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dzakem is PHAT March 25, 2015 at 7:48 am

But this guy has nothing to do with modern Top Gear?

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the guy with no name March 25, 2015 at 7:52 am

He provided the ground work.

Reply
Vil March 25, 2015 at 4:57 am

so sad…

Reply

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