Britain's Worst Driver

{{Short description|British television series}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox television | image = | alt_name = ''Britain's Worst Celebrity Driver'' (2003-05) | genre = [[Reality television|Reality]] | creator = Quentin Willson<br>Duncan McAlpine | presenter = [[Quentin Willson]] (2002-2004)<br>[[Jenni Falconer]] (2005) | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_series = 2 | num_episodes = 14 (30 inc. specials) | runtime = 30 minutes (inc. adverts) | company = [[Mentorn]] | channel = [[5 (British TV channel)|Five]] | first_aired = {{start date|2002|10|18|df=yes}} | last_aired = {{end date|2005|09|25|df=yes}} | related = ''[[Worst Driver (franchise)|Worst Driver]]'' }}

'''''Britain's Worst Driver''''' is a British television series that was broadcast on Channel 5 between 2002 and 2005. Created and hosted by ex-''Top Gear'' host [[Quentin Willson]] and made by [[Mentorn]], the show was mostly filmed at [[Millbrook Proving Ground]] in [[Bedfordshire]], England.

==Format== Each series, eight drivers were nominated by friends and family as being 'Britain's Worst Driver' and on the show had the opportunity to "earn back" their driving licences by performing various driving challenges, judged by a panel of industry experts including a motor accident investigator, a behavioural psychologist, a chief executive of a motor insurance group, and presenter and motoring journalist [[Vicki Butler-Henderson]]. The driver who performed the worst over the course of the series was awarded ''Britain's Worst Driver''.

In each episode, the drivers received extra tuition and were then set driving related challenges to show what they had learnt and to gauge their improvement. The driver that the panel of judges deemed to have shown the most improvement was allowed to go home and was rewarded with a brand new car and a course of additional driving lessons.

Comedian [[Tim Key]], nicknamed 'Timid Tim' for his seemingly cautious and slow approach to driving on the roads, was a contestant on the first series. He won the third episode (eliminated second), however sold the car that he had won, a Ford Ka, after a week. He later mentioned that he needed money at the time and that acting in the show was an ideal way to make profit from the car he won.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chortle Weekly Trivia File |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2010/02/05/10465/salmon_%c3%a0_la_irn-bru |website=Chortle }}</ref>

Contestants in the first series were Arif Patel, Becky Francis, Craig Dean, Joseph Youssefi, Kay Brown, Sharon Welburn, [[Tim Key]] and Valli Holland. In the second series contestants were Brian, Carol, Chris, Janice, Daz, Rita, Karl, and Nikki, who left the show in episode 5 .

In the first series Kay Brown was titled "Britain's worst driver", the title held by Brian Scrivener in series 2.

In the first series, Joseph was the first rehabilited driver and won a [[Rover 75]]. In following episodes, Tim won a [[Ford Ka]], Valli won a [[Suzuki Jimny]], and Arif won the [[booby prize]] of a [[Lada Riva]], leaving Sharon to win an [[MG F / MG TF#MG TF|MG TF]].

In the second series, first to get a car was Chris who won a [[Mini|classic Mini]], before Karl won the then new [[Mini Hatch|Mini One]]. In the fourth episode Daz won £10,000 in cash to compensate for the blowing up of his modified [[Opel Corsa#Nova|Vauxhall Nova]] and bought a base [[BMW 3 Series (E36)|BMW E36 318]]. Nikki then left the show and Rita won the [[Austin Allegro]], leaving Janice, who won the grand prize of a [[Jaguar X-Type]], albeit in the final episode, as none of the contestants had improved prior. After Daz was eliminated, the [[Smart Roadster]] disappeared from the car selection.

==Transmissions== ===Regular series=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Series !! Start date !! End date !! Episodes |- | '''1''' || 18 October 2002 || 29 November 2002 || 7 |- | '''2''' || 9 September 2003 || 21 October 2003 || 7 |}

===Celebrity series=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Series !! Start date !! End date !! Episodes |- | '''1''' || 4 November 2003 || 2 December 2003 || 5 |- | '''2''' || 11 September 2005 || 25 September 2005 || 7 |}

===Specials=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Date !! Entitle |- | 28 October 2003 || Highlights |- | 24 December 2003 || The Best of... |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{UKGameshow|Britain's_Worst_Driver}}

[[Category:2000s British reality television series]] [[Category:2002 British television series debuts]] [[Category:2005 British television series endings]] [[Category:Automotive television series]] [[Category:Driver's education]] [[Category:2000s British game shows]] [[Category:5 (British TV channel) reality television shows]] [[Category:Driving in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Worst Driver (franchise)]]