Rory Reid (born 12 October 1979) is an English television presenter and journalist. He specialises in motoring and technology and is known for hosting Top Gear, Extra Gear, Gadget Geeks and several web series. Since 2019 he has served as Director of YouTube content at Auto Trader, where he also presents on the channel. Since 2021 he presents Fifth Gear Recharged on Discovery+ and Quest. He has been editor-in-chief for the website Recombu and has worked on BBC Radio 5 Live's Saturday Edition as a technology journalist.
Early life
Rory Reid was born in 1979 in London, and grew up in the South London district of South Norwood. As a child he was fascinated by cars, and while his friends had posters of football players or Ninja Turtles on their bedroom walls, Reid "had every supercar poster on the wall". He began writing car reviews at a young age.
The first car he owned was a Ford Fiesta.
Career
Journalism
Reid worked for the website CNET.com, where he was senior editor, and at Personal Computer World magazine. and as editor-in-chief for the Recombu, a review and comparison website covering cars, mobile phones, broadband and television, who he continues to work for as a brand ambassador.
Reid is a contributing editor to Top Gear magazine and has contributed to the BBC Online, The Telegraph, Bloomberg, CBS, Sky, and others.
Television and radio
Reid presented on Sky's Gadget Geeks in 2012, reviewing gadgets and technology, and worked on BBC Radio 5's Saturday Edition as a technology expert. He has also presented the ITV4 show, Speed Freaks, and is a regular contributor to BBC's The One Show.
Top Gear and Extra Gear
On 11 February 2016, during his Radio 2 breakfast show, Chris Evans announced that Reid will be one of the new presenters on Top Gear, joining Evans, Matt LeBlanc, The Stig, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan. During his first series, Reid had a supporting role to the main presenters.
Reid was chosen by the show's producers after submitting a 30-second audition tape showcasing his skills as a presenter — and he was the only hopeful of the open audition to be picked, from more than 15,000 people who had applied. Evans said about Reid, “He’s knowledgeable, funny cool and warm. That's not an easy combo. And he’s a brilliant storyteller. His audition stuck out a mile.”
In an interview after his first series on the show aired, he described the experience as "pretty simple in terms of the job itself," but "the level of scrutiny that the show is under has just been absolutely immense." He also said joining the series had been "like being a soldier parachuted into a war" and the challenge of taking over from the previous presenters was "like the Wu-Tang Clan taking over from One Direction".
After that series, Evans resigned from the programme, with Reid and Harris joining LeBlanc as a trio of main hosts for the following three series. The Irish Times described Reid as "Top Gear's best 'find' since the Clarkson era", and "has an infectious schoolboy enthusiasm". He has also presented the ITV4 show, Speed Freaks.
In April 2016, it was announced that Reid would also present Top Gear's new sister show Extra Gear along with Harris. The pair presented the show for its first series, with comedian George Lewis joining them as a main presenter for the second series.
Speed Freaks and Fifth Gear Recharged
In 2021 Reid began hosting the newly renamed Fifth Gear Recharged on Discovery+ and Quest, along with Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato and Karun Chandhok. The show is a continuation of the original Fifth Gear series (which was created as a continuation of the original 1977 Top Gear series) but focuses purely on electric and hybrid drive vehicles.
Web
Auto Trader
In December 2019, Reid joined Auto Trader as Director of YouTube content. He serves as the main presenter on the channel, fronting car reviews, drag races and guides to help buyers choose a car. Reid said of his new role at the time, “Auto Trader has been a near-permanent fixture in my web browser for as long as I can remember, so having the opportunity to help others find their perfect car is a true career highlight.”