Richard Heeley

Series Director / Series Producer

"I cannot recommend Richard Heeley highly enough. As Series Producer and Series Director for Guz Khan’s Custom Cars, Richard took a concept from paper and transformed it into a brilliantly entertaining series with a presenter who had never previously worked in unscripted. He is a rare, multiskilled talent who excels across the board, from writing and directing to casting and even stills photography! Richard is incredibly creative and reliable, possessing a deep well of both car and industry knowledge that proved invaluable throughout production. He has a natural shorthand with on screen and off screen talent and leads a team with ease. I valued his opinion on every aspect of the series; he is a true collaborator whom I would re-employ in a heartbeat. "

- Damon Pattison, Creative Director, Ricochet

PROFILE

Richard Heeley is a very experienced series director and producer, with an extensive track record in Factual Entertainment programming.  He directed seven series of Top Gear from its re-launch in 2002 and was a key contributor to the highly stylized photographic look that the show become known for.  

After Top Gear Richard worked on a host of British television shows including Holiday, What Not to Wear, Jo Frost, Biggest Loser and Fifth Gear, as well as Amercian shows including The Pioneer Woman and Selling London.  

Between 2012 and 2015 he worked on multiple series of Wheeler Dealers both in the UK and the US.

In parallel Richard has had an extensive career in the corporate and commercial sector, creating content for clients including Aston Martin, Aviva, Barclays, Butlins, Lockheed Martin, Red Bull Racing, Rolls-Royce, SAB Miller and Shell.  He has also shot numerous TV commercials.

In 2017 Richard teamed up with first time director, Amy Lerner, creating an award winning feature length documentary, One More Win, which tells the story of off-road racing legend, Rod Hall, the only man to have raced every Baja 1000 since the race began in 1967. 

Between 2018-2022 Richard series produced two series of Vintage Voltage, a trailblazing observational show for Discovery, featuring classic cars being converted to run on electric power.

Since then Richard series directed Fifth Gear Recharged, featuring all the latest developments in EV technology. The show included a travelogue film directed by Richard where the team drove an electric Kia right up through Norway and into the Arctic Circle.

In 2024-2025 Richard spent a year series directing and shooting Classic Car Kings for UKTV. The series followed Irv’s Restos in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, as they carried out 6 extreme nut and bolt restorations.

Most recently, Richard series directed and series produced Guz Khan’s Custom Cars, a brand new format for Discovery, combining comedy and modified cars. And Richard has also series edit produced the latest series of Junk & Disorderly with Henry Cole.

Richard is also a highly skilled photographer and drone operator, whose work has been used commercially to support the productions he’s worked on.