Biography
John Smithson is a British film and television producer based in London. He began his career in radio as a reporter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and as a current affairs producer for BBC Radio 4, before moving into television as a researcher on Granada's World in Action and a producer on BBC's Rough Justice.
In 1988 he co-founded Darlow Smithson Productions, which he led until its acquisitions by IMG in 2006 and Endemol in 2009. He later co-founded Arrow Media in 2011 and founded Smithson Media in 2025. Smithson produced the BAFTA-winning documentary Touching the Void (2003) and originated and produced the Oscar-nominated feature 127 Hours (2010). Other notable credits include Deep Water (2006) and the BAFTA-nominated Sherpa (2015).
He has received BAFTA, Emmy, Peabody and Grierson awards for his work in non-scripted film and television.
