Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has paid tribute to broadcaster Quentin Willson who has died aged 68 after a short battle with lung cancer.
Presenters James May and Tiff Needell, who also appeared on the BBC motoring show alongside Willson, were among the many others paying tribute.
The television presenter and motoring journalist died "peacefully surrounded by his family" on Saturday 8 November, a statement from his family said.
Clarkson paid tribute with a post on X that read: "I'm far away so I've only just heard that Quentin Willson has died. We had some laughs over the years. Properly funny man."
I'm far away so I’ve only just heard that Quentin Willson has died. We had some laughs over the years. Properly funny man.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) November 8, 2025
Former race car driver and presenter on Top Gear and Fifth Gear Needell said: "Oh Quentin how can you leave us so soon. So many memories of the @BBC_TopGear we built in the nineties that I wanted to remember with you again.
"Please upload the film of me with him and Jeremy in the Ford Puma that so wonderfully displays the times we had together... RIP Q."
Oh Quentin how can you leave us so soon. So many memories of the @BBC_TopGear we built in the nineties that I wanted to remember with you again.
— Tiff Needell 🏁 (@tiff_tv) November 8, 2025
Please upload the film of me with him and Jeremy in the Ford Puma that so wonderfully displays the times we had together ... RIP Q
May said Willson gave him "proper advice and encouragement" while he was trying to break into the TV industry in the 90s, adding that he was a "great bloke".
Quentin Wilson gave me proper advice and encouragement during my earliest attempts at TV, back in the late 90s. I've never forgotten it. Great bloke.
— James May (@MrJamesMay) November 8, 2025
Willson was one of the first hosts on the hit BBC motoring show, alongside Clarkson, fronting the series from 1991 until 2001 before going on to present Channel 5's Fifth Gear.
He also created and presented a number of other motoring shows, including Britain's Worst Drivers and BBC Two's The Car's the Star.
Source: Press Association
