It took Peter Spanton a lot of his life to make places where people wanted to stay late. In the 1980s and 1990s, that skill was important in London restaurants. There was only so much food that a dining room could handle for a while. People remembered places based on the time, mood, talk, music, lighting, and the person who was in charge of the space. Spanton knew that deep down, and through his restaurant and pub, Vic Naylor’s, he became a part of Clerkenwell’s changing social scene for many years.
A lot of people today know his name because of his friendship with Janet Street-Porter, a journalist and broadcaster. After living mostly out of the spotlight for years, their long relationship and later marriage brought him back into the public eye. But Peter Spanton’s story is about a lot more than just being married to someone. He started businesses, got sober, changed himself through the expensive soft-drinks industry, and quietly became a part of a larger change in the way people in Britain eat and drink.
Spanton has never really let many people into his personal life, unlike some TV stars who live in public. That means that not much is known about some parts of his early life. Still, there is enough accurate data to follow a life that was shaped by hospitality, recovery, taking risks, and having an incredibly sharp understanding of how people interact with each other.
Early life and family history
Not much is known about Peter Spanton’s childhood and family life that has been confirmed by the public. Official business records say he is British and that he was born in January 1955, but interviews haven’t given many details about his childhood, schools, or parents. That absence is important because it sets Spanton apart from many media stars whose lives have been extensively covered in newspapers and TV shows.
From what we know, he grew up in a traditional London pub and took part in working-class social routines that involved food and drink. Later, writing about his drink brand brought up memories of his father’s whisky-and-dry habit and the drinking culture in the East End. Some of those references were meant to tell stories about the product, but they also hinted at the sensory factors that changed Spanton’s tastes and ideas about drinking as an adult.
Not many people know this, but Spanton’s businesses were built on a sense of hospitality that seemed to come from watching others rather than being taught. He was part of a generation of restaurant owners who learned by working in restaurants, getting to know people, and judging the atmosphere. They didn’t come from the culture of celebrity chefs or corporate restaurant groups. That difference would shape how he did business for the rest of his life.
How to Get a Job in London’s Restaurant Business
The way people ate in London started to change around the middle of the 1980s. Some parts of the city that became popular creative areas were still pretty rough around the edges. They were full of workshops, warehouses, and commercial spaces that were having trouble making ends meet. It wasn’t yet known as the fancy restaurant neighbourhood that Clerkenwell would become.
The first Vic Naylor’s opened in 1986 on St. John Street in Clerkenwell by Peter Spanton. The venue would be one of the most important projects in his career. It was risky to start a stylish restaurant in that area at the time because Clerkenwell didn’t have the same number of media workers, designers, and wealthy diners that it does now.
It was Vic Naylor’s that stood out because it didn’t sound fake. Later, reviews from restaurant critics and cultural writers talked about exposed brickwork, casual service, and a room that was more about personality than formal luxury. People often said that Spanton was a hands-on host who knew how to make guests feel like they were a part of something secret and special.
In reality, places like Vic Naylor’s helped change the way people felt about whole neighbourhoods. Before a lot of big developers and corporate hospitality groups moved into Clerkenwell, smaller, independent businesses set up places for artists, journalists, singers, and people in advertising to go. It was Spanton’s venue that was a part of that early trend.
People who are creative and Vic Naylor’s
Vic Naylor’s built a reputation over time that went beyond food. During the rise of the Young British Artists generation, it became linked to London’s art scene. Several profiles linked the restaurant to artists like Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, and the Chapman brothers, who were all part of Britain’s controversial contemporary art movement in the 1990s.
At that time, it was also said that director and artist Sam Taylor-Wood, later known as Sam Taylor-Johnson, worked there before he became famous all over the world. These details are important because they put the restaurant in the middle of a real cultural moment, rather than just adding famous names after the fact.
Spanton himself seemed to like being casual over being exclusive. In contrast to celebrity restaurants that have strict rules, Vic Naylor’s got its fame through reputation and word of mouth. The mood was like the kind of friendly service that London used to be known for: stylish without feeling too controlled.
Now though, this is where things get interesting. How well the venue did was also directly linked to Spanton’s personality and presence. Often, his friends, reporters, and restaurant reviewers said that he was charming, friendly, and deeply involved in the room’s life. This quality helped keep regulars coming back, but it came at a personal cost.
Alcohol, Too Much, and a Turning Point
In London’s party scene of the 1980s and 1990s, running bars and restaurants often made it hard to tell the difference between work and fun. Peter Spanton’s drinking became a big problem over time. He later admitted that he became an alcoholic while he was running Vic Naylor’s.
In comments he gave years later, he said that Spanton went to The Priory in 1999 when he realised that his drinking was hurting him. He said that giving up drinking was one of the hardest things he had ever done. He was very honest in what he said because he didn’t try to make addiction seem appealing or recovery seem easy.
The change came about in part because of his friendship with Janet Street-Porter. Spanton said she pushed him to get help, and they started dating while he was trying to put his life back together. The time was important because getting sober made him think about not only his habits but also the way people behaved around him.
It’s interesting to see how that experience directly affected his next business. Instead of giving up all hospitality, Spanton became interested in what restaurants and bars actually had to offer people who didn’t drink. Adults who didn’t drink were usually left with sugary beers, fruit juice, or mineral water, while everyone else drank wine, cocktails, and carefully chosen spirits.
That anger led to the start of a new job.
Getting a new look through adult soft drinks
After giving up heavy drinking, Spanton turned his attention to high-end non-alcoholic drinks. A long time before the word “mindful drinking” became popular, he was trying to make drinks that adults could enjoy without alcohol but still felt sophisticated.
His drink brand, Peter Spanton Beverages, tried to give more than just sweetness. Instead of being advertised as soft drinks, the goods were more like cocktails or mixers. Spices, herbs, citrus oils, bitter notes, and botanical flavours that weren’t common in sodas at the time were used as ingredients.
One product that got a lot of attention right away was Beverage No. 7, an acai-based drink that was made over a few years. Spanton said that he wanted a drink that could be enjoyed slowly with food instead of racing through like a soft drink. Acai, grape, clove, and star anise were said to have been mixed into the drink to make it more complex and rich.
At that time, the British drinks market wasn’t fully on board with high-tech alcohol-free drinks. There were high-end tonics, but the low- and no-alcohol market wasn’t nearly as big as it would be in the 2020s. Spanton got into the adult non-alcoholic drinks business early, before supermarkets and big brands put a lot of money into them.
Putting together the Peter Spanton brand
Spanton’s selection grew to include flavoured tonics and mixers that showed his love of mixing unusual flavours. Cardamom, cucumber, lemongrass, ginger, chocolate, mint, and bitter citrus flavours were all linked to the name. The name and package also had a retro look that set the brand apart from other popular soft drinks that are brightly coloured.
Food and drink writers were interested in the drinks because they saw them as part of a growing market for high-end mixers. The appeal wasn’t mass-market sweetness, but rather depth. Spanton seemed to want to make drinks that could be used for socialising in places where alcohol has traditionally been popular.
Even so, the business stayed pretty specific. Peter Spanton Beverages gained a loyal following among some bartenders, restaurants, and speciality stores, but it never went as global as some other mixer brands that came out later. Still, the fact that it existed showed how people in Britain were changing their minds about drinking culture.
A lot of people don’t know this, but Spanton and other people like him helped the premium mixer and alcohol-free drinks movement grow by questioning what people thought adult beverages could be. His goods came out before the market got too crowded, which gave them a cult following among people who work in the hospitality industry.
Having an affair with Janet Street-Porter
One of the most well-known things about Peter Spanton’s life was his friendship with Janet Street-Porter. Street-Porter had been in the public eye for decades before she met Spanton. She was famous for her writing, TV work, and outspoken personality.
It is said that they started working together in the late 1990s. They became known as a stable long-term couple over time, even though both had very public careers and strong personalities. In some interviews, Street-Porter talked about Spanton, but the two usually kept most of their private life out of the public eye.
Part of what interested people was the contrast. Street-Porter made a name for himself by being out in public and provoking people, while Spanton kept a more low-key image based on business and hospitality rather than television. Even though they had different public identities, their friends and profiles often said they were very smart, socially active, and very compatible.
Street-Porter told the ITV show Loose Women in February 2026 that she and Spanton were getting married after being together for 27 years. The news got a lot of attention from the media because it was a rare case of a late-life celebrity getting married in a funny, non-showy way.
The wedding itself looked like it was meant to be low-key. Reports were more about how nice and long-lasting the relationship was than about the celebrity antics. For many readers, the marriage sparked new interest in Spanton and brought him to the attention of people who had never heard of his work in restaurants or bars.
Questions about money and business interests
People who search for Peter Spanton often want to know how much he is worth and how his finances are doing. There are, however, still not many trustworthy public figures. Unlike top executives of public companies or famous people in the entertainment industry, Spanton has not made public detailed information about his personal finances.
Companies House records show that he was involved in businesses related to drinks and hospitality, such as Peter Spanton Drinks Ltd. These documents show that he did do business, but they don’t give a full picture of his personal wealth or interests.
Some entertainment websites give guesses about how much money people have, but many of these numbers don’t come from reliable sources, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, independent hospitality businesses can have times when they make a lot of money, but they also have high costs of doing business and a lot of risks.
Spanton’s public standing isn’t really based on his wealth; it’s more on his cultural impact in the drink and hospitality industries. He is known for his taste, creativity, and ability to stay alive, not for how big his business is.
Reputation and personality in public
People who worked with Peter Spanton often said that he was stylish, had strong opinions, and understood how people behaved. He seemed to care more about being real and having a good vibe than following strict business rules. That attitude helped make Vic Naylor’s and his drinks businesses what they are today.
But there is also a deeper emotional thread in his story that has to do with healing and starting over. Spanton did not go away after he admitted he was an alcoholic. Instead, he turned his experience into a new idea about how adults can get together with each other without drinking all the time.
That change might have looked more out of date at the time, but it does now. Britain’s attitude toward drinking has changed a lot in the last ten years. There is now more open talk about sobriety and a higher demand for premium alcohol-free choices. Spanton joined that conversation many years before it became popular in the business world.
His relationship with Street-Porter also affected how people saw him, though it did so in a roundabout way. He was often seen as a stabilising force in her life, not as someone who wanted to be famous. The fact that they had been together for a long time made that impression stronger.
Personal life and what is still unknown
Even though the media occasionally covers Peter Spanton’s private life, a lot of it is not known to the public. Either not much has been said about the children, extended family, schooling, and past relationships, or the information has been kept secret on purpose.
In a time when many famous people share every detail of their personal lives on social media and TV shows, that self-control is very rare. Spanton is more of an older type of hospitality personality; someone who is known through places, conversations, and reputation rather than constantly putting themselves out there.
There is also not a lot of proof that he is actively trying to become famous. Even when Vic Naylor was at the top of his fame, most of the attention was still on the restaurant and not on Spanton becoming a TV star or lifestyle brand.
Because of that privacy, his biography has to be told in a certain way. A good profile should include information about his businesses, relationships, and public statements, but it shouldn’t add speculation to fill in the blanks.
Effects on Culture and Legacy
Peter Spanton is in a unique place in the history of British culture. But even though he was never a big star, his work caused some big changes in city life, hospitality, and drinking culture.
Vic Naylor’s was from a time when London neighbourhoods were changed by independent restaurants, before big hospitality groups came along. The venue became linked to artists, celebrities, and the rise of Clerkenwell as a place to go out with friends.
His drinks business was ready for a much bigger shift toward high-end non-alcoholic drinks. These days, bars and restaurants often serve fancy cocktails and mixers that don’t contain booze. That wasn’t nearly as usual in the early years of Peter Spanton Beverages.
There is also a personal heritage connected to making it through and starting over. Spanton’s life shows that someone who was very involved in the drinking society could stop drinking without giving up all hospitality, pleasure, or social connections. That point of view gave his later work an unusual amount of respect.
Where Is Peter Spanton Right Now?
As of 2026, Peter Spanton is still best known to the public for his long marriage and relationship with Janet Street-Porter, as well as for his earlier work in dining and drinks. Public business records show that Peter Spanton Drinks Ltd shut down in 2022, but you can still find online references to the brand and its products.
He seems to have a lot more privacy in his life than most people who are connected to TV stars. The recent news about the couple’s marriage has gotten more attention from the media than their new business plans or public appearances.
Still, you can see his impact in less obvious ways. London’s hospitality culture still values places with a lot of personality, like Vic Naylor’s. Meanwhile, the market for premium non-alcoholic drinks has grown a lot since Spanton first started working in it.
What’s strange is how modern many of his ideas seem now. A lot of people are talking about adult soft drinks, sober socialising, and neighborhood-based hospitality years after he started working in those places.
Questions People Ask Often
What does Peter Spanton look like?
Peter Spanton is a British restauranteur and drinks businessman who is best known for opening Vic Naylor’s in Clerkenwell and later making the Peter Spanton line of high-end soft drinks and mixers. He is also known for being married to writer and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter.
Peter Spanton, how old are you?
Business papers make it clear that Peter Spanton was born in January 1955. In 2026, he would have been 71 years old, though his exact birthday has not been publicly known.
Which one did Vic Naylor get?
Peter Spanton opened Vic Naylor’s in 1986 in Clerkenwell, London. It was a restaurant for food and drinks. The club became known for its laid-back vibe and stylish guests, and it became linked to London’s arts and media scene.
Does Peter Spanton have a wife named Janet Street-Porter?
Yes. In February 2026, Janet Street-Porter said that she and Peter Spanton were married after being together for 27 years. People had heard about their relationship for a long time before they announced they were getting married.
Did Peter Spanton have a problem with drinking?
Peter Spanton has talked in public about how he became addicted to drinking while running bars and restaurants. Later, in 1999, he went to The Priory for help and got sober. This had a big impact on his later alcohol business.