If you have ever watched a battered motorbike come back to life on British television, you have probably watched Henry Cole. He is a presenter, producer, director, author and record-breaking rider. He is also the man who built a television career out of one simple idea: old machines have stories, and so do the people who ride them.
This guide covers his early years, his struggle with addiction, his production company, his best-known shows, his speed records and his books. It also answers the questions people search for most, such as his age, his wife and what he is working on in 2026. All details are checked against his official website, publisher pages, Guinness World Records coverage and respected press interviews.
Henry Cole BIo
| Bio Details | Information |
| Husband | Henry Cole |
| Wife’s Name | Janie Cole |
| Alternative Name | Jane Cole |
| Nationality | British (reported) |
| Profession | Not publicly confirmed |
| Date of Birth | Not publicly available |
| Age | Not publicly confirmed |
| Marriage Date | Not reliably confirmed |
| Marital Status | Married, according to his public biography |
| Children | Two sons |
| Children’s Names | Charlie and Tom |
| Residence | Cotswolds, England (reported) |
| Public Appearances | With Henry Cole at selected events |
Henry Cole at a Glance
Here are the quick facts for readers who want the short version.
- Full profile: English TV presenter, producer, director and author
- Born: February 1964 according to Companies House data cited by Wikipedia. Some older sources give 16 February 1965
- Educated at: Eton College
- Best known for: The Motorbike Show, Shed & Buried, Junk & Disorderly, Find It, Fix It, Flog It and World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides
- Business interests: Founder of HCA Entertainment and founder and CEO of Gladstone Motorcycles
- Records: Pre-1955 750cc land speed record at Bonneville (2013) and Guinness World Record for fastest tandem motorcycle (2023)
- Books: A Biker’s Life, The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds and Riding Route 66
- Home: Oxfordshire, with his wife, two sons and dogs
In short, Cole is the rare presenter who also owns the company that makes his programmes and the bike brand he rides.
Henry Cole Childhood, Eton and the Start of a Passion
Cole grew up in a large Norfolk rectory with fourteen bedrooms, a dog and a very traditional upbringing. He has described it as stiff upper lip, with love present but rarely spoken.
That quiet, formal world is the backdrop to everything that came next. It also explains why a roaring old motorbike felt so exciting to a small boy.
Henry Cole’s Family Influence
The biggest influence was his great-uncle Dick “Redbeard” Gladstone, a British eccentric born in 1898. When Cole was eight, Redbeard showed him a corrugated iron shed packed with vintage British bikes. Cole helped rebuild and ride them.
That shed is the seed of his whole career. It is why he champions the British heritage movement today and why sheds appear in so many of his titles.
Cole is also descended from the family of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Sources describe the exact relationship differently, usually as a great-great-uncle. Importantly, Gladstone Motorcycles is named after Redbeard, not the Prime Minister.
His father, who grew up near the Castle Howard estate in Malton, Yorkshire, was far less keen on motorbikes. So the bikes stayed a secret passion for years.
Henry Cole Education and Early Rebellion
Cole went to prep school and then Eton College, where he overlapped with Boris Johnson. He has said the intense, elite atmosphere there did not suit him.
Things started going wrong when he began smoking weed at school. By his own account, he was riding a friend’s 250cc Honda illegally by the age of 13. Motorbikes gave him freedom that school never did.
He calls himself a rebel without a cause in his memoir, and that restless streak shaped his next decade.
From Camera Work to Film-Making
Before he was a famous face, Cole worked behind the lens. His route into television was anything but straight.
Work Before Television Fame
His early jobs read like a rock and roll CV:
- Dispatch rider
- Session drummer
- News sound recordist
- News cameraman in the early 1980s, working for broadcasters including ITV and the French channel TF1
- Rockumentary maker, mostly with heavy rock bands
- Director of more than 70 TV commercials for brands such as Flora, Mastercard, Top Up TV, Dixons, TfL and Amstrad
This camera-first background is why his shows look so good. He understands how to frame a rusty fuel tank as beautifully as a mountain pass.
Addiction and Recovery
Between the ages of 19 and 24, Cole battled heroin addiction. He has been clean since 1988 and speaks openly about it in interviews, talks and his memoir.
He has said he even used dispatch riders to get drugs delivered, a detail he shared with The Telegraph. Today he uses his story to help others and often appears at events about recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, speaking to a GP or a local drug and alcohol service is a sensible first step.
Film Credits
Cole turned his experiences into film. His credits as producer and director include:
- Mad Dogs and Englishmen, starring Elizabeth Hurley, C. Thomas Howell and Joss Ackland. It is semi-autobiographical and draws on his own life
- Dead Funny, starring Elizabeth Peña and Andrew McCarthy
- Princess in Love
Mad Dogs and Englishmen did not succeed at the box office. That setback pushed him towards television, where his career really took off.
HCA Entertainment and Business Success
After the film disappointment, Cole pitched a show to Channel 5 called Stars and Cars. The channel was unsure about letting him host it. So he offered to make a Christmas pilot for free, on the condition that a series would follow if it rated well.
It worked. Stars and Cars ran from 1996 to 2000 and made him a presenter.
A Production Company Behind the Programmes
He founded HCA Entertainment in 1995. It is an independent company that makes factual entertainment for ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Discovery and Quest.
HCA makes every show Cole presents and plenty he does not. Other titles from the company include:
- Grime Fighters
- Kensington Wives
- Men Brewing Badly
- London’s Greatest Hits
- Supersize Grime
- The Real Filth Fighters
This ownership is the key to his staying power. Cole decides what gets made, who appears and how it feels on screen.
Gladstone Motorcycles
Gladstone Motorcycles was announced in 2013 and delivered its first bikes in 2014. It was billed as the first bespoke British motorcycle marque since Hesketh.
The first model was the Gladstone No. 1, a bobber with:
- A blueprinted 744cc Triumph T140 engine
- A nickel-plated frame designed with Metisse Motorcycles
- A production run of just nine bikes
- A launch price of £22,995
Guy Willison, Cole’s friend since their teens, helped conceive and build the bikes. The brand’s tagline is “Handmade British Motorcycles for Discerning Hooligans”.
Henry Cole on Television
Cole is on British screens more often than almost any other factual presenter. His shows share a formula: warm humour, genuine knowledge and a love of getting hands dirty.
The Motorbike Show
The Motorbike Show began on ITV4 in 2011. Cole and his co-presenters talk bikes, test machines and meet riders in a relaxed chat format.
After changes at ITV4, the team set up an online home at themotorbikeshow.com. The official site says Series 1 to 9 are available there, with Series 10 to 13 being added later. The team hopes to bring Series 14 to ITV in 2027.
Shed & Buried
Shed & Buried started in 2015. Cole and restoration expert Fuzz Townshend hunt for forgotten vehicles in barns and garages, restore them and sell them for a profit.
The format spawned spin-offs focused on classic cars and combine harvesters. It remains one of his flagship programmes.
Junk & Disorderly
In Junk & Disorderly, Cole teams up with custom bike builder Allen Millyard and Guy Willison. Together they hunt for bargains at autojumbles and turn scrap into rideable machines.
The show returned for a fourth series in 2026.
Find It, Fix It, Flog It
This series began in 2016 and has aired on Channel 4, Quest and U&Yesterday. Cole finds a neglected bike, restores it and tries to sell it at a profit. It is a simple idea that suits his skills well.
Find It, Fix It, Drive It
Aired on More4 in 2019, this spin-off swapped bikes for classic cars. Cole and his team revived old vehicles and then took them on a road test.
World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides
This is the series that made Cole a global name. It first aired on Travel Channel International and has run for more than twenty series. It has been shown in over 100 countries.
Each episode follows him on a famous road, such as Route 66, with local riders and stunning scenery. It is where his talent for storytelling and his love of travel meet.
Record-Breaking Motorcyclist
Cole does not just talk about speed. He has chased it on salt and on tarmac.
Bonneville Achievement
In 2013 Cole rode a Brough Superior SS100 across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He set a world land speed record for a pre-1955 750cc motorcycle.
Reported figures differ slightly by source. Wikipedia cites an average of 99.78 mph, while his own official biography quotes 104.298 mph. Either way, the record is real and widely recognised in motorcycling circles.
He has returned to Bonneville several times on both Brough Superior and Gladstone machines.
Tandem Motorcycle Record
On 25 May 2023, Cole rode pillion with Allen Millyard on Millyard’s home-built Viper V10 at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire. They set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest tandem motorcycle at 183.5 mph (295.3 km/h).
That beat the previous mark of 181.42 mph, set by Erin Hunter and Andy Sills at Bonneville in 2011.
Books and Personal Interests
Cole writes the way he talks: funny, honest and a little rude about himself. His books mix memoir, travel and shed worship.
Henry Cole’s Books
- A Biker’s Life: Misadventures on (and off) Two Wheels (Quercus, 18 October 2018). His memoir, covering Eton, addiction and the roads that shaped him
- The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds (Quercus, 17 September 2020). A celebration of the humble shed and the freedom it gives
- Riding Route 66: Finding Myself on America’s Mother Road (Quercus, hardback June 2024, paperback May 2025). The story of riding the famous highway, which he has done three times
Outside books, his interests are classic British bikes, vintage tools, travel, heritage and campaigning for people recovering from addiction.
Henry Cole Age
Companies House data cited by Wikipedia lists his birth as February 1964. That makes him 62 in November 2026.
Some older websites give 16 February 1965, which would make him 61. Because the sources disagree, “early sixties” is the safest description.
Henry Cole Wife, Sons and Dogs
He is married to Janie, sometimes written as Jane, and they have two sons, Charlie and Tom. The family lives in Oxfordshire. His wife keeps a low public profile.
His Norwich Terriers, Jelly Bean and Jelly Tot, have appeared in many of his programmes. His official website also mentions a dog named Bumble.
Current Work in 2026
Cole is busier than ever in 2026. Here is what is on the schedule:
- Shed & Buried Series 8 started on Quest on 1 June 2026, with ten more half-hour episodes planned for November and December
- Shed & Buried Classic Bikes, six one-hour episodes, was announced for October 2026. Check Quest listings for dates
- Junk & Disorderly Series 4 returned in February 2026
- A two-hour Shed & Buried special aired on Quest on 16 March 2026
- The Motorbike Show online, including Shed Talk interviews and a new series fronted by Guy “Skid” Willison
- Live events, including the Motorbike Show Spring Ride-In at the National Motorcycle Museum on 11 April 2026
For the latest air dates, the official site henrycole.tv posts regular updates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Henry Cole
Who is Henry Cole?
Henry Cole is an English TV presenter, producer and director best known for The Motorbike Show and Shed & Buried. He also founded Gladstone Motorcycles and HCA Entertainment.
How old is Henry Cole?
He was born in February 1964 according to Companies House data, so he is 62 in 2026. Some sources give 1965, which would make him 61.
Where did Henry Cole go to school?
He attended Eton College, where he was a contemporary of Boris Johnson.
Is Henry Cole related to William Gladstone?
Yes, he is a descendant of the Gladstone family, usually described as a great-great-nephew of the Prime Minister. His bike brand is named after his great-uncle Dick “Redbeard” Gladstone instead.
Who is Henry Cole’s wife?
He is married to Janie, also written Jane, who stays out of the media. They have two sons, Charlie and Tom.
What world records does Henry Cole hold?
He holds the pre-1955 750cc land speed record set at Bonneville in 2013. He also shares the Guinness World Record for fastest tandem motorcycle at 183.5 mph from 2023.
What books has Henry Cole written?
He has written A Biker’s Life (2018), The Life-Changing Magic of Sheds (2020) and Riding Route 66 (2024).
Is Henry Cole still on TV in 2026?
Yes. Shed & Buried Series 8 began on Quest in June 2026 and Junk & Disorderly returned in February 2026.
Where can I watch The Motorbike Show now?
The show has an online home at themotorbikeshow.com. A return to ITV is hoped for in 2027.
Does Henry Cole own a motorcycle company?
Yes, he is founder and CEO of Gladstone Motorcycles, which builds limited-run British custom bikes.
Conclusion
Henry Cole’s story is bigger than any single TV show. A boy from a strict Norfolk home found freedom in his great-uncle’s shed, survived heroin addiction, built a production company and became one of the most recognisable voices in British motorcycling.
His speed records, his Gladstone bikes and his three books all point to the same theme: ride your own road and fix what is broken, whether it is a Triumph engine or your own life.
If you want to follow what he does next, keep an eye on Quest for Shed & Buried and on themotorbikeshow.com for new episodes. His official site, henrycole.tv, is the best place for confirmed dates
Ashton is a passionate writer with over 4 years of experience creating clear, creative, and engaging written content.
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