Plum Pictures Producer of the James May series was 57
Will Daws, the joint managing director of Plum Pictures, who was a key figure in the British television community and made shows with James May and George Clarke, died suddenly in London on Monday. He was 57.
Daws started his career as a stand-up comedian before picking up a camera and heading to Liberia to document the war. He sold his footage to Channel 4 and went to work in current affairs at the BBC, where he made docuseries such as ‘Holidays in the Axis of Evil’ and ‘Places That Don’t Exist’, as well as the ‘naughty’ show ‘A Dirty Weekend in Hospital’ and ‘The Zimmers’, which followed an older rock band.
Throughout his career, Daws cultivated relationships with big names in the industry, including George Clarke, James May, Simon Reeve, Stefan Gates, Peter Snow, Hannah Fry, Johnny Vegas and Ronnie Corbett.
At the BBC, Daws met his co-founder of Plum Pictures, Stuart Cabb. In 2007, the two left the broadcaster to strike out on their own and launched Plum under the Hat-Trick banner. Production director Victoria Moss joined shortly afterwards and together they created a host of international formats including the long-running ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces’, ‘James May’s Toy Stories’, ‘James May….Our Man In’, ‘Trainspotting Live’ and much property content for Channel 4.
“Will Daws looked more like the leader of a big, merry gang than someone who fit the cliché of a television executive (a title he hated anyway). He worked under a simple mantra that television had to be fun to make or it wouldn’t be fun to watch,” May said in a statement. “We discussed this when we met 18 years ago, and as a result, almost everything I’ve done outside of car programming has been done with Will and Plum Pictures. He was a relentless geyser of ideas as sparkling as he was idiotic, a motivator, a notorious charmer of commissioners and a terrible driver… I loved this man, as did everyone around him. I’m extremely fortunate to have known him.”
Clarke said he always called him “Lord Daws… and for good reason.”
“He built the most beautiful ocean liner called HMS PLUM. The ultimate amazing space,” he continued. “We all traveled with him aboard his beautiful ship and visited some of the most magical places on earth. No matter what storms we encountered on those voyages, Lord Daws always protected us and managed to navigate us to calmer, safer waters. We always laughed with him. We were always in awe of him. We always loved him.”
Cabb added: “Will was like a brother to me. I’m still in denial that this happened. He was a wonderful friend and an extraordinary business partner. Life will be so much less fun without him.”
Daws is survived by his wife Shula, son Ethan, daughter Noa, mother Dilys and brothers Sam and Joe.
