Iain Thompson
agent: Camilla Chiverton - camilla@sternwild.com
Iain “Thompy” Thompson is a Director, Showrunner and Executive Producer renowned for working with world-class talent and launching some of television’s most loved and enduring formats.
Thompy's name is synonymous with working alongside the biggest names in entertainment.Working across premium documentary, primetime entertainment, and factual formats, he brings style, warmth, and cinematic flair to everything he creates. He is known for drawing out authentic - and often unexpected - performances from on-screen talent, revealing a different side to some of our biggest stars.
With a sharp editorial instinct and a deep understanding of both scale and intimacy, Thompy is equally at home delivering large-scale entertainment as he is crafting intimate, character-led documentaries. Highly experienced in delivering at scale and under high pressure, he has overseen complex, logistically demanding series, one-off films, and major events, filming across the world in remote and challenging environments.
His award-winning series SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters for ITV showcases his ability to deliver premium documentary storytelling with bold entertainment sensibilities. The series combines adrenaline-fuelled action with deeply emotional, life-affirming moments and breathtaking natural history cinematography.
Thompy has a distinct talent for crafting intelligent, emotionally resonant documentaries that never lose their sense of entertainment. A standout achievement in his career is DNA Journey for ITV, the hit returnable series he co-developed with Ant and Dec. Serving as both Executive Producer and Director, Thompy helped establish the show as a flagship format, blending personal discovery with powerful emotional storytelling for a wide range of well-known talent.
A highly versatile director, Thompy has led talent-driven documentary projects including Cold Chain Mission with Ewan McGregor, Britain by the Book: Mel Giedroyc and Martin Clunes, James Bond’s Spectre with Jonathan Ross and Micheal Buble’s Day Off, as well as one-off specials featuring stars such as Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, and Jack Black. He has also played a key role in launching and shaping some of ITV Entertainment’s most iconic formats, including I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Hell's Kitchen and Last Laugh in Vegas showcasing his ability to devise and manage complex formats, large crews and evolving narratives to deliver polished, cinematic entertainment at scale.
His adventurous spirit has taken him and his contributors into some of the world’s most challenging environments—from producing and directing a concert in Afghanistan with Gary Barlow using only military personnel (Gary Barlow: Journey to Afghanistan), to filming a documentary in an active conflict zone with Tom Hiddleston.
Alongside his entertainment and documentary work, Thompy is a principled filmmaker and a trusted creative force behind many of the UK’s largest televised fundraising events, including Soccer Aid, Red Nose Day, and Stand Up to Cancer - using storytelling to raise brand awareness, inspire action, and shine a light on issues that matter. In recognition of his work, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by UNICEF.