Jem Stansfield
Jeremy Stansfield (born 1970) is a British engineer and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC One science show Bang Goes the Theory.
Jem Stansfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jeremy Stansfield December 1970 (age 52)[1] |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Bristol University |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Career
Stansfield has a degree in aeronautics from Bristol University and, before his television career, worked in a Czech school, as a shepherd in the Australian outback, and briefly in stand-up comedy.[2] Stansfield was an on-screen ballistics expert for the television show Scrapheap Challenge and went on to become a permanent part of the engineering team for subsequent series.[3][4]
Among his inventions are a compressed-air powered motorcycle, and boots that walk on water (for which he won a New Scientist prize).[5]
In 2010, Stansfield used vacuum cleaners to create "Spider-Man style" climbing gloves, climbing 30 feet up a brick wall.[5][6] He also drove a modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco 210 miles from London to Manchester using coffee granules for fuel.[7][8]
In 2013 Stansfield sustained injuries during filming of a segment for the series Bang Goes the Theory. The segment was about the safety of front-facing and rear-facing seats in car crashes. Stansfield was in a cart which crashed, simulating the impact of a car hitting a lamppost and suffered from spine and brain injuries as a result.[9]
In 2021 Stansfield was awarded £1.6m in damages after a High Court battle.[9] It emerged in court that the BBC had been warned of the dangers by crash test experts but this information was never passed to Stansfield.[9]
Filmography
- Television
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2003 | Science Shack | Presenter | |
| 2002–2003 | Home On Their Own | Inventor / Engineer[2] | |
| 2004 | Zero to Hero | Engineer | |
| 2006 | Scrapheap Challenge | Staff Engineer | Briefly credited as "Ballistics Expert" |
| 2006 | Men in White | ||
| 2006 | Wild Thing: I Love You | Presenter / Aeronautical Engineer | |
| 2008 | Planet Mechanics | Presenter | 8 episodes |
| 2009–2014 | Bang Goes the Theory | Presenter / Head of Engineering | 49 episodes |
| 2010 | Explosions: How We Shook the World | Presenter | Documentary |
| 2010 | Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention | Science correspondent | |
| 2011 | Big, Bigger, Biggest | Presenter / Engineer | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Horizon | Presenter | April 2012 episode entitled "Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials" |
| 2012 | Stargazing Challenges | Presenter | |
| 2013 | Newsround | Judge | for "You Too Could be an Absolute Genius" segment |
- Film
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Lost in Space[2] | Special effects technician | For Magic Camera Company |
| 1998 | The Avengers[2] | Special effects | |
| 2004 | Van Helsing | Special effects |
References
- ^ "Jem STANSFIELD". Gov.uk. Companies House. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Grimshaw, Vicki (6 July 2002). "Wacky Inventor Jem Stansfield Creates Amazing Gadgets to Make Kids' Dreams Come True in a New TV Series". Daily Mirror.[dead link]
- ^ "BIOGRAPHIES: Planet Mechanics". National Geographic Channel. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Gould, Julie (November 2013). "Speaking to... Jem Stansfield". Speaking of Science. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ a b Hough, Andrew (16 February 2010). "Jem Stansfield: 'human spiderman' scales 30 ft wall using only vacuum cleaner suctions". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Nosowitz, Dan (25 July 2009). "British Man Climbs Up Side of Building Using DIY Vacuum Gloves". Gizmodo. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "Bang goes the coffee in drive for science in Manchester". BBC News. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "TV host's coffee car nears finish". Metro. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "Jeremy Stansfield: Bang Goes The Theory host wins £1.6m BBC damages". BBC News. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
External links
- Jem Stansfield at IMDb