John Smithson

John Smithson (born in March 1952) is an Oscar Best Picture nominee and BAFTA, Emmy, Peabody, and Grierson award-winning producer and executive in non-scripted film and television based in London, England.

His most notable works include originating and producing the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated film 127 Hours, the BAFTA-winning landmark documentary Touching the Void, as well as the BAFTA and London Film Festival-winning documentary Sherpa.

Career Smithson began his career as a reporter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio before joining BBC Radio 4 as a current affairs producer. He then entered the television industry, spending five years as a researcher on Granada’s World in Action, followed by two years producing Rough Justice for BBC TV.

He co-founded Darlow Smithson Productions in 1988 and led its growth into one of the world’s foremost non-fiction producers and a trailblazer for UK expansion into the US factual market, producing over 100 hours of high-quality programmes every year for world-leading broadcasters, including Discovery, C4, BBC, and National Geographic.

Smithson acquired full control of Darlow Smithson Productions in June 2002, buying out co-founder David Darlow’s 50% stake. The company was acquired by sports and media giant IMG in 2006 and later by Endemol in 2009.

In 2011, Smithson co-founded Arrow Media, one of the UK’s fastest-growing production companies, which rapidly became a creative powerhouse delivering more than 100 hours of world-class TV to the UK, US and international markets each year. In 2023, Arrow Media was acquired by French media group Asacha, which has since become part of Fremantle (company).

Since his departure from Arrow Media, Smithson worked independently before founding his own production company, Smithson Media, in 2025 to focus on a slate of ambitious projects, while acting as a key creative and strategic advisor in content creation and management.

Awards & nominations

Notable Work

Touching the Void — 2003 (Producer) Deep Water — 2006 (Producer) 9/11: The Falling Man — 2006 (Executive Producer) Thrilla in Manila — 2008 (Executive Producer) 127 Hours — 2010 (Producer) Sherpa — 2015 (Producer)

Complete Filmography