MOTOR enthusiast Jon Bentley is best known for presenting The Gadget Show where he first joined as a host way back in 2004. But his career in showbiz started long before he became the ultimate tech tester The Gadget Show - which has since had a rebrand. Who is Jon Bentley? Self-confessed car boffin Jon was born in 1961 and was privately educated at Millfield, in Somerset.
The married dad-of-two then studied geography at Oxford University before joining Ford as a graduate trainee in 1982. He found the job dull and left to venture into the world of TV a year later - starting as a researcher on BBC's Top Gear . For 12 years, between 1987 and 1999, Jon was the producer and executive producer of Top Gear.
In this role, Jon helped launch the TV careers of Jeremy Clarkson , Quentin Wilson and Vicki Butler-Henderson . Jon was also the series producer of Fifth Gear from 2002 to 2004, while a corner of the Top Gear test track is named after him. He also pens regular columns for Classic Car Weekly and Amateur Photographer - and has written for the London Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph, Top Gear Magazine, MSN and CNET UK.
As a lover of cars Jon Bentley revealed to fans that his first car was his father's 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, and he proudly admits to still owning it to this day. MOST READ IN TECH When did Jon Bentley join The Gadget Show? Jon made the decision to move in front of the camera when he joined The Gadget Show as a presenter in 2004. However, in February 2012 it was announced that the show's format was changing - and Jon was leaving the show.
Just a year later, in April 2013, Channel 5 bosses admitted defeat and returned the tech show to its previous format. Jon re-joined the presenting team alongside Countdown star Rachel Riley. Writing on his website, Jon said: "This gave me the opportunity to indulge another childhood passion, technology – I used to repair TVs, build radios and practise old-fashioned chemical photography as a youth.
"I am now established as the programme’s main gadget reviewer." Channel 5 bosses have been criticised by fans for completely rebranded the beloved franchise , and renaming it Shop Smart Save Money in 2024. The latest line-up of the rebrand includes Jon plus Georgie Barrat , Gabby Roslin and Ortis Deley .
Former Coronation street actor Craig Charles decided to quit The Gadget show in 2022. What is Jon Bentley doing now? The gadget guru continues to test technology and consumer products on The Gadget Show programme's successor, Shop Smart, Save Money . When not presenting Jon enjoys writing and in 2019 he published his first book, Autopia: The Future of Cars.
According to his website, Jon reveals his current interests to include the radio, photography, reading about architecture, business and economics, as well as visiting art galleries..
