Rory Reid was born on 12 October 1979 in South London, England, and grew up in the district of South Norwood. His parents have not been publicly identified. As a child, he was fixated on cars — while friends pinned up posters of footballers or cartoon characters, Reid’s bedroom walls were covered entirely with supercar posters. After passing his driving test as a teenager, he bought cheap cars and modified them for performance and aesthetics, deeply engaged in the modified car scene popularised by magazines like Max Power.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University), then launched a journalism career at age 20. He wrote for Personal Computer World magazine, served as features editor at Gameswire.com (gaming), and then joined CNET UK as a senior editor, where he created and launched the site’s automotive video content. He later became editor-in-chief of Recombu.com — a tech and car review website. Throughout this period he contributed to The Telegraph, Bloomberg, CBS, BBC Online, Sky, and BBC Radio 5 Live.

His television breakthrough came in 2016, when he submitted a 30-second video audition tape to the BBC and beat tens of thousands of applicants to win a place on the relaunched Top Gear (BBC Two/BBC One). He was the only presenter on that series selected through open audition — all others were hand-picked. He co-presented Top Gear for three series (2016–2019) and was lead host of its first-ever spin-off, Extra Gear, alongside Chris Harris. After leaving Top Gear in 2019, he joined Auto Trader as Director of YouTube content, growing the channel to over one million subscribers. Since 2021 he has co-presented Fifth Gear Recharged on Discovery+ and Quest.

Reid keeps his personal life tightly private. He has two children — a son and a daughter — and has spoken briefly about them on social media, notably claiming his daughter is already a better driver than his son. His relationship status and partner’s identity have never been publicly confirmed.