John Needham has, in almost thirty years as a producer, been responsible for literally hundreds of television programmes.  For three years he was the Deputy Series Editor of the BAFTA award winning BBC flagship arts series Omnibus. In 1982 he became the first BBC producer ever to win the prestigious Italia Prize for Music and he has also won an American ACE award for arts programming in addition to a Royal Television Society award for best light entertainment programme.

During the eighties, he produced and directed a number of films about animation with the veteran Hollywood animator Chuck Jones for such organisations as the BBC, Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. These included Chuck Amuck: The Movie, Tex Avery - King of Cartoons,Watch Me Move and Bugs and Daffy and Chuck and Porky. (Below: A lunch-time production meeting with Chuck Jones.) 

For ten years from the late eighties he was, in turn, the Managing Editor and Controller of Programmes of Mentorn Films in London. During this time Mentorn was repeatedly voted the UK's leading independent production company. He was instrumental in finding the funding for Gerry Anderson's 26 part sci-fi series Space Precinct on which he was a co-executive Producer. (Below: Captain Rexton Podly meets Florida's finest at NATPE in Miami.)

Later, in partnership with Gerry Anderson, he co-created and developed a number of projects for television including the 26 part Japanese anime series Firestorm produced by IFS in Tokyo.

He now creates and develops projects for Peculiar Pictures as well as directing and producing for other companies.