Former Top Gear presenter James May was flooded with support after announcing the sad news of TV producer Will Daws’ death on social media
Monde Mwitumwa and Michelle Marshall
12:36, 09 Dec 2025
Top Gear James May(Image: Humphrey Nemar/ dailystar)
Former Top Gear presenter James May has paid a heartfelt tribute to his friend and colleague. The Grand Tour host, 62, received an outpouring of sympathetic messages after sharing the devastating news.
Will Daws, co-founder of Plum Pictures and producer of the Prime Video series James May’s Shed Load of Ideas, passed away unexpectedly in London at the age of 57.
The British television producer and executive, who famously described himself as “10% man, 90% anecdote”, had forged close relationships with many presenters and on-screen personalities, collaborating with the Top Gear star on numerous projects.
Their joint productions included James May’s Toy Stories, James May: The Reassembler, Our Man In…, Oh Cook! and James May: Our Man in Japan.
His portfolio also featured multiple programmes with Amazing Spaces host George Clarke, alongside work with notable figures including Simon Reeve, Stefan Gates, Peter Snow, Hannah Fry, Johnny Vegas and Ronnie Corbett, reports the Express.
Top Gear’s James May flooded with support after co-star ‘dies suddenly’(Image: GETTY)
James posted a poignant message on X honouring his departed friend, alongside a photograph of the two together.
He shared: “If you are wondering what happened to episode three of my ‘Shedload…’ series last night: it was postponed out of respect to Will Daws, co-founder of Plum Pictures, who produced the show.
“He died suddenly on Monday evening. You will meet him in the episode when it airs. Some of you will remember him from Manlab and Oh Cook as well. A great bloke and a great mate. Here we are comparing shirts on the set of The Reassembler. I’m the awkward looking one.”
His three million followers rushed to the comments section to express their sympathies. Comedian Al Murray wrote: “So sorry to hear this.”
Another follower expressed their condolences, saying: “I am so sorry for your loss, James. My deepest condolences to your team, I always loved all of your shows.”
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A third fan reflected: “Every time Will appeared on behind the scenes clips he seemed like an absolutely lovely chap. Sorry for your loss, James.”
George Clarke from Channel 4 also paid his respects to Will, whose Amazing Spaces series Plum has been producing for Channel 4 since 2012,.
He shared: “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.”
