Peter Spanton: Career, Drinks Business, and Life With Janet Street-Porter

Peter Spanton has spent much of his professional life behind the scenes, but his name has become increasingly familiar to people interested in British hospitality, premium drinks, and the personal life of broadcaster Janet Street-Porter. A former restaurateur and drinks entrepreneur, Spanton built a career around bars, beverages, and creative flavor combinations rather than television or celebrity.

His story stretches from London’s lively bar culture to the development of distinctive premium mixers. More recently, public interest in Peter Spanton has grown because of his long relationship with Janet Street-Porter. After being together for more than two decades, the couple married in January 2026.

Despite that connection to a famous media personality, Spanton has maintained a relatively private profile. His career, however, provides an interesting look at London’s hospitality scene and the changing world of adult soft drinks.

Who Is Peter Spanton?

Peter Spanton is a British former restaurateur, drinks creator, and entrepreneur who has spent a significant part of his working life in hospitality.

He became particularly associated with Vic Naylor’s, a bar and restaurant in London’s Clerkenwell neighborhood. The establishment developed a reputation as an unusual meeting place within London’s social, creative, and nightlife scenes.

Spanton later moved away from running bars and turned his attention toward beverages. His work led to a range of adult soft drinks and premium mixers carrying the Peter Spanton name.

For American readers unfamiliar with the term, an “adult soft drink” generally refers to a sophisticated non-alcoholic beverage designed with more complex flavors than a conventional soda. Such drinks can be enjoyed on their own or used as cocktail mixers.

Spanton’s public profile is also closely connected with Janet Street-Porter, the British journalist, broadcaster, and television personality who became his wife in 2026.

Peter Spanton’s Age and Background

Peter Spanton was born in January 1955, placing him in his early seventies in 2026.

Compared with many public figures, relatively little reliable information is available about his childhood, parents, education, and early family life. That lack of information reflects the fact that Spanton has generally been a hospitality professional and businessman rather than a conventional celebrity.

His documented professional story becomes much clearer when he enters London’s restaurant, nightclub, and bar world.

Spanton began working in the bar trade when he was young. By the 1980s, he was connected with London’s nightlife and cocktail culture, an environment that would eventually influence both his restaurant career and later beverage creations.

Peter Spanton and London’s Hospitality Scene

A major part of Peter Spanton’s career is associated with Vic Naylor’s in Clerkenwell, London.

The venue opened during the 1980s, well before Clerkenwell became the fashionable residential and dining destination it later developed into. Vic Naylor’s was not simply another conventional restaurant. It became known for its atmosphere, late nights, and connection with people from London’s creative community.

Artists and other cultural figures were among those associated with the venue during its best-known years.

Spanton played a central role in creating that atmosphere. His experience behind the bar also gave him an understanding of how flavors, cocktails, mixers, and the social side of drinking worked together.

That experience would become particularly important during the next stage of his career.

From Restaurateur to Drinks Entrepreneur

Peter Spanton eventually stepped away from his earlier bar-centered lifestyle and began developing non-alcoholic beverages.

The transition made sense given his background. Instead of treating a soft drink as something basic or primarily intended for children, Spanton wanted to create beverages that adults could slowly enjoy.

His ideas developed into Peter Spanton beverages and, later, the Peter Spanton Drinks range.

The products were built around distinctive flavors rather than simply reproducing standard tonic water or soda. They could be served alone as non-alcoholic drinks or paired with spirits as premium mixers.

This placed the Peter Spanton brand within the broader premium mixer market, where tonic water, ginger drinks, flavored sodas, and botanical beverages are designed to contribute their own character to a drink.

What Was Peter Spanton Drinks?

Peter Spanton Drinks was associated with a range of premium tonics, sodas, and cocktail mixers.

Rather than giving every beverage an ordinary descriptive product name, the range became recognizable for using numbers. Different numbered drinks represented different flavor combinations and drinking experiences.

Among the varieties associated with the range were London Tonic, Dry Ginger, Chocolate, Lemongrass, London Soda, Cardamom Tonic, and Salted Paloma.

The flavors demonstrated Spanton’s willingness to experiment.

The chocolate variety, for example, combined chocolate and mint notes and was intended to work particularly well alongside darker spirits. The cardamom tonic introduced the distinctive fragrance of cardamom, while lemongrass and ginger provided a brighter and more aromatic alternative to traditional tonic flavors.

This approach helped separate Peter Spanton Drinks from conventional carbonated beverages.

Award Recognition for Peter Spanton Drinks

Some beverages carrying the Peter Spanton name received industry recognition.

At the 2017 SIP Awards, Peter Spanton Beverage No. 9 Cardamom Tonic and No. 3 Dry Ginger received silver awards in the carbonated mixer category. No. 13 Salted Paloma received a bronze award.

These awards provide a useful indication that the drinks were not simply unusual flavor experiments. They were also evaluated within the wider beverage industry.

The product range appeared in specialist drinks and hospitality coverage and was promoted for both standalone drinking and use in cocktails.

For consumers, the appeal was straightforward: tonic water and soda did not necessarily have to disappear behind the flavor of a spirit. The mixer itself could become an important part of the drinking experience.

Peter Spanton and Janet Street-Porter

Much of the recent public interest in Peter Spanton comes from his relationship with Janet Street-Porter.

Street-Porter is a prominent British journalist and broadcaster whose career has included newspapers, radio, television, and editorial positions. American audiences may know less about her, but she has been a recognizable figure in British media for decades.

Spanton and Street-Porter began their long-term relationship around 1999. Their personalities and professional backgrounds placed them in different kinds of public environments: Street-Porter regularly appeared before large audiences, while Spanton remained considerably more private.

Their relationship nevertheless continued for more than a quarter of a century before they decided to marry.

When Did Peter Spanton and Janet Street-Porter Get Married?

Peter Spanton and Janet Street-Porter married on January 31, 2026.

Street-Porter publicly revealed the news on the British television program Loose Women on February 2, 2026. During the announcement, Spanton appeared alongside her and their dog, Badger.

Reports at the time said that the couple had known each other for approximately 27 years.

The wedding attracted considerable attention because the pair had already shared such a long relationship before getting married. It also introduced Spanton to television viewers who knew Street-Porter well but had heard relatively little about her longtime partner.

For Spanton, it represented an unusual moment of mainstream media attention after many years of maintaining a much lower public profile.

Peter Spanton’s Work as a Counsellor

Hospitality and beverages are not the only areas connected with Spanton’s professional life.

In more recent years, he has also worked in counseling. Public professional information identifies him as a UK-based counselor and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

His listed areas of work include issues such as anxiety, stress, addiction, trauma, depression, and relationship difficulties.

The career may appear very different from running a London bar or creating premium tonic water. However, it represents another chapter in a professional life that has changed significantly over the decades.

Spanton has therefore moved through several distinct working environments, including hospitality, beverage development, education-related work, and counseling.

Why Is Peter Spanton Famous?

Peter Spanton is best known for three connected parts of his public story.

First, he has a long history in London’s hospitality industry, particularly through Vic Naylor’s in Clerkenwell. Second, he developed a recognizable range of premium beverages and mixers under the Peter Spanton name. Third, he is the longtime partner and now husband of Janet Street-Porter.

He differs from many people who become widely searched because of their relationship with a celebrity. Spanton had an established professional history long before his 2026 marriage attracted renewed attention.

His story is therefore not simply about whom he married. It also involves decades of experience in London’s restaurant and drinks culture.

Is Peter Spanton the Karate Expert?

There is an important point of confusion surrounding the name Peter Spanton.

A different man named Peter Spanton was a highly accomplished British karate instructor associated with Higashi Karate Kai. That Peter Spanton lived from 1943 to 2020.

He is not the same Peter Spanton who worked as a restaurateur and drinks entrepreneur and later married Janet Street-Porter.

The shared name can cause biographies and search results to become mixed together, so details about karate should not be included in the biography of Janet Street-Porter’s husband.

Peter Spanton’s Personal Life

Spanton has generally kept his private life outside the level of public attention experienced by his wife.

Although information about his career and relationship is available, extensive verified details about his parents, siblings, childhood, and other family matters are not widely documented.

That privacy is worth keeping in mind when reading biographies about him. Specific claims about his family or early years should not automatically be treated as established facts simply because they appear online.

What is well established is his decades-long relationship with Janet Street-Porter and the couple’s marriage in 2026.

Peter Spanton Net Worth

There is no reliable, publicly confirmed figure for Peter Spanton’s net worth.

Online celebrity profiles sometimes attach specific financial estimates to entrepreneurs or people connected with famous partners, but an estimate is not the same thing as verified financial information.

Spanton has worked across hospitality, beverage development, and counseling, giving him several professional chapters during his career. Without reliable financial disclosures, however, assigning a precise dollar amount to his wealth would be speculation.

Peter Spanton’s Career in Perspective

Peter Spanton has followed an unusual professional path.

His working life moved from cocktails and London’s nightlife to restaurant ownership and then into premium non-alcoholic beverages. His later work in counseling added another dimension to a career already marked by significant changes.

His drinks business is particularly interesting because it grew from practical experience. Spanton understood bar culture and cocktails before creating sophisticated soft drinks and premium mixers intended for adult tastes.

Products such as Cardamom Tonic, Dry Ginger, Lemongrass Tonic, London Tonic, and Salted Paloma reflected that preference for unusual flavor combinations.

Although his marriage to Janet Street-Porter brought his name to a much broader audience, his professional identity had been developing for decades before the wedding announcement.

Frequently Asked Questions About Peter Spanton

Who is Peter Spanton?

Peter Spanton is a British former restaurateur, drinks entrepreneur, and counselor. He is known for his involvement with London’s Vic Naylor’s, his Peter Spanton premium beverages, and his long relationship with broadcaster Janet Street-Porter.

How old is Peter Spanton?

Peter Spanton was born in January 1955. He turned 71 in January 2026.

What does Peter Spanton do?

Over the course of his career, Spanton has worked in hospitality, restaurants, beverage development, and counseling. He became particularly associated with premium tonics, sodas, and adult soft drinks.

Is Peter Spanton married?

Yes. Peter Spanton married Janet Street-Porter on January 31, 2026, after the couple had been together for more than two decades.

What is Peter Spanton Drinks?

Peter Spanton Drinks was a premium beverage range associated with flavored tonic waters, sodas, and mixers. Products included flavors such as cardamom, lemongrass, ginger, chocolate, and salted grapefruit or Paloma-style drinks.

What is Peter Spanton’s net worth?

No authoritative public source provides a verified figure for Peter Spanton’s net worth. Specific estimates found online should therefore be treated cautiously.

Final Thoughts

Peter Spanton’s story extends well beyond his relationship with a famous broadcaster. His career has included London’s restaurant and nightlife culture, experimental soft drinks, premium cocktail mixers, and later counseling work.

His association with Vic Naylor’s placed him within an influential period of London’s hospitality scene, while Peter Spanton Drinks demonstrated his interest in creating unusual beverages for adult tastes. Products built around cardamom, ginger, lemongrass, chocolate, and other distinctive flavors showed a willingness to move beyond conventional tonic water.

His marriage to Janet Street-Porter in January 2026 brought renewed attention to his life after their long relationship. Yet Spanton himself has generally remained much more private than his wife.

For readers discovering Peter Spanton for the first time, that combination explains much of the interest surrounding him: he is a hospitality veteran, drinks creator, counselor, and longtime partner turned husband of one of Britain’s most recognizable media personalities.

Also read: Gemma Longworth: Artist, TV Upcycler and Creative Wellbeing Advocate