Will Daws obit

Will Daws Dies: British Producer Behind James May & George Clarke Programs Was 57

He was not on the list.

Will Daws, the British producer known for producing programs for James May and George Clarke, has died aged 57.

The widely-respected exec passed away suddenly in London this week. He had run James May: Our Man In… and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces producer Plum Pictures alongside production partner Stuart Cabb since 2007.

Daws – who described himself as “10% man, 90% anecdote” – was close to many of his presenters and on-screen talent, and made several programs with Top Gear star May. Their series together included James May’s Toy Stories, James May: The Reassembler, Our Man In…, Oh Cook! and James May: Our Man in Japan.

He also produced several shows with Amazing Spaces presenter Clarke, and others with the likes of Simon Reeve, Stefan Gates, Peter Snow, Hannah Fry, Johnny Vegas and Ronnie Corbett.

Early in his eclectic career, Daws was a stand-up comedian and a war zone cameraman, initially taking a camera to a Liberia off his own back and selling the footage to Channel 4. He became a director and exec producer for the BBC, working there for nearly a decade on shows such as Holidays in the Axis of Evil, Places That Don’t Exist, A Dirty Weekend in Hospital and The Zimmers. He then formed the London-based Plum alongside Cabb, another former BBC director and EP, with backing from Jimmy Mulville’s Hat Trick Productions.

“Will was like a brother to me,” said Cabb, who ran Plum with Daws as joint Managing Director. “I’m still in denial that this has happened. He was a wonderful friend and extraordinary business partner. Life will be so much less fun without him.”

Mulville, Managing Director of Hat Trick, also paid tribute, saying: “Will was not only a great producer brimming with ideas, he also possessed a wonderful sense of mischief and adventure. He led his Plum Pictures alongside Stuart Cabb with great charm, wit and kindness. We are going to miss him.”

Daws’ passing has led to an outpouring of grief in UK production circles, with former Top Gear presenter May saying: “Will Daws was more like the leader of a big, happy gang than someone who fitted the cliched mould of a television executive – a title he loathed anyway. He worked under a simple mantra that said television should be enjoyable to make, otherwise it wouldn’t be enjoyable to watch.

“We discussed this when we met, 18 years ago, and as a result, almost everything I’ve done outside of car programming has been made with Will and Plum Pictures. He was an unrelenting geyser of ideas equally sparkling and idiotic, a motivator, a notorious charmer of commissioners, and a terrible driver.”

May added: “I loved this man as did everyone around him. I am profoundly happy to have known him.”

Clarke, whose Amazing Spaces series Plum has produced for Channel 4 since 2012, said: “I always called him Lord Daws, and for good reason. He built the most beautiful ocean liner called HMS PLUM: The ultimate amazing space. We all travelled with him aboard his wonderful ship visiting some of the most magical places on earth. Whatever storms we faced on those journeys, Lord Daws always protected us, managing to navigate us to calmer, safer waters. We always laughed with him. We were always in awe of him. We always loved him.

“This week Will dropped us all off, safely at port. Always the pioneer, he decided to carry on alone to discover even more beautiful, unimagined spaces.”

Ian Katz, the Chief Content Officer at Amazing Spaces network Channel 4, said: “Will was a much-loved force of nature in the British TV world. After an eclectic early career, he built Plum Pictures into a factual powerhouse, delivering a string of Channel 4 hits, many fronted by his great friend George Clarke. He’ll be remembered as much for his decency and warmth, as his creativity and infectious energy. He was one of the good guys.”

Another Channel 4 exec, Commissioning Editor Clemency Green, said Daws was “a special combination of a kind, generous soul and a joyfully creative mind.”

Simon Chinn, the co-founder of docs producer Lightbox and a close family friend of Daws, added: “Will was the most luminous, funniest, most positive and brilliantly imaginative person I have had the privilege of knowing and calling my friend. He lit up every room he entered and was loved by everyone. His sudden loss is almost impossible to fathom and leaves a massive void. My heart goes out above all to his wife, Shula, and his lovely kids, Ethan and Noa.”

Daws’ production house, Plum, is primarily known for UK unscripted shows, but has twice teamed with Hulu and ABC News, firstly on  Little Miss Innocent: Passion. Poison. Prison and then a docuseries about the murder of Mike Williams, a Florida Baptist.

Daws leaves behind his wife and two children, mother and two brothers.