16/11/2025
Thirty years ago to the day the first short documentary film I directed for ITV was broadcast. ‘Pins and Needles’ was about the increasingly becoming popularised art of body piercing. ITV told me to push the boat out when making it.
16th November 1995 ITV received literally hundred of phone calls about the film, no complaints but when could viewers see it again. It won several international film festivals and the clip below shows Huffty from Channel 4’s The Word introducing me, introducing it for it’s first repeat in 1996
ITV then engaged me to research a 4 part series called ‘Bodyworkers.’ Pre internet I somehow discovered some real characters and Channel 4 were about to green light the project when a new commissioner took over and sent a FAX saying he believed the series would be too extreme for Channel 4, so that was the end of that.
All these years ‘Bodyshockers’ presented by Katie Piper is along the same lines. Hey ho, there you sometimes go but I came up with the concept 19 years earlier. ‘Pins and Needles’ itself is only ten minutes long shot on super 16mm film and broadcast on Beta SP. This is from the first broadcast repeat in 1996.
Of all the complimentary press reviews the film received this was typical Daily Sport just prior to it screening the first time. I constructed it so that contributors could explain why and where they were piercing their bodies and allow viewers to make up their own mind. I’d be interested to know if people think it stands up 30 years later.
This me with MTV Producer Yvette Cheeseman as she signing her consent to filming form, the Daily Sport article and ‘Pins and Needles’ of course. Thanks to everyone who worked on it:
https://vimeo.com/235743016
