MEET THE TEAM! Spotlight on… John Plaskett

If you are a regular viewer of Globetrotter TV programmes, you may well have seen John Plaskett presenting episodes from France, Switzeland or Italy. However, did you know that John is also one of the main forces behind the company?

As managing director he teamed up with Trevor Claringbold back in 2016 to form Globetrotter, and bring a whole new generation of travel programming to our television screens.

Letting him have a rare moment to sit down with a cup of tea, we took the chance to ask him a few thought provoking questions to learn more about his views on all things travel.

How would you sum up your role in two sentences?

As Managing Director I am responsible for the day to day operations of the company, maintaining our broadcast and distribution, dealing with legal requirements and accounts, HR, sales, marketing and overseeing our productions.

In the moments when I have some spare time I focus on ‘steering the ship’ into a bright future.

What led you to coowning a travel TV channel?

A life’s journey you could say. I’ve worked in television, and video production, for most of my adult life. I started out like many do, at the was within the corporate video sector, and I longed to be back in Television. An opportunity to work as a staff editor for a TV broadcaster appeared, and I took my chance. The opportunity took me from London, to nearby Maidstone in Kent. Within a few short months I was promoted to the management team where I worked closely with all the company department heads. bottom. My first job was working as a runner in a Post Production facility in central London. Promotion was rare within the company, and so I moved on to a small firm based in Richmond, where I gained fabulous opportunities to learn quality production skills.

The changing face of UK television hit our company hard, and I decided it was time to leave. I started my own company and learned the ins and outs of business the hard way.

I met Trevor Claringbold in 2010 working on an Antiques TV series. He was the Director and I was the editor, but we really found ourselves producing the series between us. We realised that we should work together more often and so began a series of independent projects.

Ironically it was while I was visiting family in California that I realised I wanted to launch my own TV channel. After all, I knew the inner workings of a small broadcaster quite well. I just needed an idea. Trevor meanwhile, had wanted to create a travel channel for quite some time, but didn’t know how to go about it.

An excited conversation later and Globetrotter was born.

However most of our work

What kind of traveller are you?

I would say I was more of a holidaymaker than a traveller. Don’t get me wrong though, we live in an amazing world, with vibrant and interesting cultures everywhere. I love to experience new things and constantly push myself to my limits.

But if I was to travel during my annual leave. I 100% guarantee that I will be lying on a beach somewhere doing nothing.

What is your most memorable travel moment?

There have been so many amazing moments over the years. I particularly love it when something fun and unexpected happens on a filming trip.

Are the filming trips as easy as they look on television? Hahaha, no they are not. They are long hours, and sometimes in quite uncomfortable conditions. Some of our expeditions can be 3 weeks long, and it’s working 6am until 1am most days, without a day off.

One occasion that springs to mind happened during the early days of Globetrotter. I had just arrived in Catalonia, Spain, and we had time for a spot of punting on our first day.

I discovered that I love being on the water, and got the hang of it pretty quickly. It’s left me with a permanent desire to learn to sail one day. When I find the time.

Which destination do you most dread visiting, and why? I suffer from a mild case of self diagnosed OCD. I have never liked being muddy or dirty. With some effort I can prepare myself mentally for such an experience but the dread would be real.

For that reason, I’m not overly excited with the prospect of travelling to places off the beaten track.

A fun anecdote; I used to have an irrational fear of traveling to Turkey. I can’t explain it, and it was totally irrational.I then got to travel there for a trip and thought the country was amazing. I even holidayed there afterwards. Fears can be conquered, even the crazy ones.

You have to be constantly on the ball as well. We can’t easily go back and reshoot a scene if something goes wrong. You learn to make decisions quickly.

The team spirit is amazing though, and despite the work we always have a good time. I couldn’t ask for a better team of people.

As the boss, do you get to pick the best trips for yourself? Not really, no. I leave all our production planning to Trevor, our Creative Director, and trust his judgment. If I’m available and he needs me as part of the squad then I’m happy to go. It’s better than the paperwork, haha

Where is the one place that you would most like to travel to?

I have always wanted to visit Japan. It’s top of my list. In fact if we got the opportunity to go I might have to use the ‘Owner’ card to make sure I go on that trip. Perhaps I should change my answer to the previous question…

Tell us one fact that the viewers would find most surprising about your job.

It’s mostly paperwork. I miss the relaxing bliss of day to day productions, but there you go. I realise it’s not a particularly interesting fact. Sorry.

How do you friends and family view your job?

I imagine most of my friends and family consider my job to be just one big holiday. Even though it can be 18 months between trips. I can’t blame them though, I’m doing what I love, and in many ways it doesn’t always feel like work.