Luke Gamble

Age
33

Favourite Country
England – as much as I love travelling and adventures in far flung places I always miss home and am pleased to come back.

Favourite food
Toad in the Hole. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding a close second!

Phobia
I’ve been known to have issues with cotton wool. I really can’t talk about it.

When away I will miss
I miss my family incredibly, I have a beautiful wife and baby daughter and a brilliant little boy and I hate not be involved in their day to day lives, living and sharing life experiences with them. Hopefully, one day when the children are a bit older we can go on a family Gamble team trip! I also really miss my dog and cat! My dog is like my shadow at home, he is big handsome ridgeback who comes to work with me each day and hops in the truck as we visit all the farms and stables on visits. He sleeps under my desk at the practice which has surprised a couple of visitors in the past! It always feels a bit strange to be doing vet work without him around!

What I look forward to on a shoot
On many of these shoots I haven’t previously met the people running the charities we visit so I always look forward to meeting them, working out how WVS can set up a sustainable programme to help them and get cracking with assisting them and the animals. It is the best thing to get stuck in somewhere and feel like you are having a really big, positive impact – that is what I strive for. I also like finding a new local name for Nathan (the Assistant Producer) in each country and getting as many people as possible to believe that it’s his real name. Had fantastic results in Grenada and Mexico with this.

Dreading
I always worry about the animals I’m working on in front of the camera. I don’t want to be distracted or miss something because of the filming or pressure to get something done and I don’t want to let the animals I’m treating down. They are my priority and I dread going on a shoot with a crew that don’t understand that or respect that an animal in pain or distress is much more important that filming another intro to the story. Thankfully the production crew on this series have all been brilliant, really supportive and often put down the gear to come and help me with an extra pair of hands if I’ve needed it.

Top Ten Tunes
I know the crew will be weeping that you asked me this. I am doing my best to convert them and get some airtime in the car (we do a lot of driving) but it is a constant battle and only when they are nodding off do I get a chance to blast out some Bryan Adams and catch them unawares with great tunes. I really got Marc going with some brilliant tunes on a long drive in Nepal – nothing he could do, he was driving and I had free reign. Eye of the Tiger, that sort of thing – he loved it really. Need I go on?

Top Ten Films
I love films. Star Trek II Wrath of Khan was a cracker in its day…

Marc the Producer

Age
37 … mmh, ok 38, tomorrow.

Favourite country
From a travelling point of view, New Zealand. It’s fairly small, tremendously diverse geographically and the people are friendly and welcoming. Best to travel with a camper van. On the other hand I love to travel to remote places and locations like Greenland, Mauritania, Borneo, the Amazonian rainforest in Peru or the Himalayan mountains fascinate me. I am always baffled by how people live and survive in these extreme conditions.

Favourite food
Thai, Italian, Japanese and sometimes even some wholesome German … stuff.

Phobia
Still have to find one, I am hard as nails. Well … a bit of vertigo … and I hate cockroaches. But that’s both hardcore.

When away I will miss
Of course my wife and friends, but also home with our log cabin near the lake.

What do I look forward to on a shoot
Even though we try to plan as much as we can, I am always looking forward to the unexpected and being surprised. And of course meeting interesting and inspiring people and discovering visually stunning locations. Basically, being on the road and capturing great stories.

Dreading
Hate flying. We just do not belong up there!

Top Ten Tunes
Changes regularly. For instance we had a blast in Costa Rica listening to Kings of Leon and The Killers. On one specific trip from San Juan to he pacific coast I DJ’ed on my little iPod while Luke was driving. It went from Crowded House and Pixies to Beastie Boys and Jack Johnson … basically anything that you can sing to without realising that you are completely out of tune!

Top Ten Films
Mmh …tricky one, let me have a think. I will get back on that.

Adam the Cameraman

Age
Not saying!! Ok, 39!

Favourite country
Vietnam, Australia, Argentina, Japan… Home.

Favourite food
Italian, Sushi, Churrasca.

Phobia
Flying, creepy crawlies.

When away I will miss
My little boy, Leon.

What do I look forward to on a shoot
The adventure, interesting places, people, animals, sunsets, getting my white t-shirt dirty, a cool beer after a grueling days work and most of all filming great stories.

Dreading
Flying. I hate flying!

Top Ten Tunes
Depends on the mood, at the moment really into Kings of Leon, The Killers and Starsailor. I’m an Indie Head!

Top Ten Films
Cinema Paradiso, City of God, The Wire (I know it doesn’t count as a film, but am just chucking it in) Where Eagles Dare, TBC

Nathan the Assistant Producer

Age
12 according to Luke.

A.K.A.
Bruce, Sloth, Chai, Lupe, Narender and whatever Luke feels like naming me on any given day…

Favourite country
Armenia (although I’ve never been) and of course good old England!

Favourite food
A good traditional roast dinner with all the trimmings.

When away I will miss
Girlfriend, friends, family. Rainy London.

What do I look forward to on a shoot
Having great experiences that will stay with me for life and helping to make a series that will show something new on television.

Dreading
Flying and being away from London.

Top Ten Songs
Trains to Brazil (Guillemots), Love What You Do (The Divine Comedy), No Surprises (Radiohead), Underneath the Weeping Willow (Grandaddy), Summertime (Billie Holiday), Pounding (Doves), Out of Time (Blur), Starlings (Elbow), From the Morning (Nick Drake), 2:45AM (Elliott Smith).

Top Ten Books
Catch 22 (Joseph Heller), Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka), 1984 (George Orwell), We (Yevgeny Zamyatin), The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov), Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison), The War of the World (Niall Ferguson), The Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein).

Ces the Aerials Producer

Age
36

Favourite country
I love the north of Italy, the mountains and the lakes.

Favourite food
Italian, Spanish, Indian, Thai, Mexican, hmmmmm, all food

Phobia
Surgery, open wounds. I go faint, in fact I do faint.

When away I will miss
My bed, my GPz 900, my girlfriend (but not in that order!)

Top Ten Films
North by Northwest, Lawrence of Arabia, The Goodfellas, The Godfather II, The African Queen, Midnight Cowboy, The Shawshank Redemption, Raging Bull, Schindler’s List and …er… Jungle Book…

Simon the Cameraman

More about Simon coming soon…

Nick the Producer

More about Nick coming soon…