Worst Driver television franchise
The Worst Driver series is a television franchise that started in the United Kingdom. As of 2018, Canada's Worst Driver was the longest-running version in the franchise and ran continuously since 2005. In May 2019, Andrew Younghusband announced on his personal Facebook page that the show would not be renewed for a fifteenth season, with no reason being given publicly for the series' cancellation (it is believed that Proper Television president Guy O'Sullivan's death may have contributed to the decision).[1]
| Worst Driver | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (UK) |
| Production company | Mentorn |
| Distributor | Passion Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Five |
| Original release | October 18, 2002 – December 24, 2003 (United Kingdom) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Original series
Britain's Worst Driver was a British television series created and hosted by ex-Top Gear host Quentin Willson made by Mentorn and shown on Five in the United Kingdom from October 2002 to December 2003.
International versions
| Country | Name | Host | Channel | Year aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
Australia's Worst Driver | Peter Colquhoun | Seven Network | 2003[2] |
 Austria |
Österreichs schlechtester Autofahrer | Robert Kratky | ORF | 2007 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
Y'a pas pire conducteur | RTBF | ||
| De slechtste chauffeur van Vlaanderen | VTM | |||
 Brazil |
Ruim de Roda | Luciano Huck | Rede Globo | 2012[3] |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
Canada's Worst Driver | Andrew Younghusband | Discovery Channel | 2005-2018 (14 seasons) |
| Les pires chauffards québécois | Richard Turcotte | Z Télé | 2015-2017 (4 seasons) | |
 Denmark |
Danmarks Værste Bilist | Henriette Honoré (2004) Lisbeth Janniche (2005) |
TV2 | 2004-2005 |
 Finland |
Suomen surkein kuski | Juuso Mäkilähde (2012-2017) Eero Ettala (2018-present) |
MTV3 MAX (season 1) MTV3 (season 2-present) Sub (reruns) |
2012-present |
 France |
Zéro de conduite | M6 | ||
 Germany |
Abgewürgt und ausgebremst - Deutschlands schlechtester Autofahrer | Panagiota Petridou | VOX | 2013[4] |
 Netherlands |
De Allerslechtste Chauffeur van Nederland (2011-2013) De Slechtste Chauffeur van Nederland (2014-present) |
Ruben Nicolai (2011-2013) John Williams (2014-present) |
BNN (2011-2013) RTL 5 (2014-present) |
2011-present (4 seasons as of 2014) |
 New Zealand |
New Zealand's Worst Driver | |||
 Poland |
Najgorszy polski kierowca | Stefan Friedmann (2007-2008) Aleksandra Kutz (2015-present) |
TV Puls (2007-2008) TTV (2015-present) |
2007-2008 2015-present |
 Portugal |
O pior condutor de sempre | Bruno Nogueira | SIC | 2006 |
 Sweden |
Sveriges värsta bilförare | Linda Isacsson (2005) Hans Fahlén (2012) Adam Alsing (2009-2011, 2014-present) |
TV4 (2005-2012) Kanal 5 (2014-present) |
2005 2009-2012 2014-present (6 seasons as of 2014) |
 Switzerland |
Y'a pas pire conducteur en Suisse romande | |||
 United Kingdom |
Britain's Worst Driver | Quentin Willson | Channel 5 | 2002-2003 |
| Britain's Worst Celebrity Driver | (2 seasons as of 2005) | |||
 United States |
America's Worst Driver | Alonzo Bodden Jill Simonian |
Travel Channel | 2010 |
| Worldwide | World's Worst Driver | (2 seasons as of 2005) | ||
World's Worst Driver
World's Worst Driver follows the formula of Britain's Worst Driver, but it includes contestants from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Thailand and New Zealand. At the end of each episode, the most improved driver wins a car.
History
On the first season of De Allerslechtste Chauffeur van Nederland in 2011, a bad driver injured host Ruben Nicolai and a cameraman during its shoulder check challenge when the driver let go of the wheel, covered his eyes and pressed the gas pedal. That was the first time a host was ever injured on any of the shows in the franchise.[5]
Similar shows
- Canada's Worst Handyman was a sister series to Canada's Worst Driver that aired from 2006-2011 that focused on rehabilitating the country's most inept home renovators, Don't Drive Here was a spin-off of Canada's Worst Driver that aired from 2013-2015 that focused on learning to drive better than a local professional driver. All three shows were hosted by Younghusband.