Our People

John Whittle is Managing Director of Lime Pictures and Wise Owl Films, having been promoted to the role in 2024 after joining the company as Finance Director in 2016. He leads the businesses’ strategic vision, operations, and commercial growth, working closely with the creative and production leadership across scripted, kids & family, animation and premium factual.

Partnering with Lime and Wise Owl creative leads, John has driven a period of ambitious expansion, having strengthened digital and commercial capabilities while nurturing a strong development slate and people-focused culture.

In 2025, Lime Pictures marked Hollyoaks’ 30th anniversary as Channel 4’s flagship soap with the return within it of a vignette at Brookside Close.   Lime also launched its on-site L16 Studios in Liverpool, further enhancing its production infrastructure and housing part of the production for CBBC’s Girl Troops vs Aliens for transmission 2026.  Netflix’s epic fantasy animation Wolf King also landed which received Children’s & Family Emmy nominations.

Across Wise Owl Films, John has overseen continued success including the Our Farm Next Door franchise with Amanda Owen, the BBC Two music documentary strand When…Came to Britain and The Brontes by Anita Rani, Sisters of Disruption for Sky Arts.

Before joining Lime, John held senior international finance roles at NBCUniversal across its theatrical and home entertainment divisions, working in Sydney, Stockholm and London. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the ICAEW.

BAFTA nominated James has a 25-year factual television career spanning documentary, current affairs and science programming. He’s an award-winning producer who has worked for a host of broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, Nat Geo, Discovery and The History Channel.

James oversees Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids for More 4 and spearheads Wise Owl’s output in the premium factual space.

Hannah Cheers is Executive Producer of Hollyoaks. Following a recent stint as Producer on Emmerdale, Hannah has returned to Hollyoaks where she began her career in the story office in 2009. She story-produced, produced and series-produced the show under Bryan Kirkwood across 2012-2021. During this period Hollyoaks was BAFTA nominated,  won two Best British Soap Awards, two Broadcast awards and two Royal Television Society Awards. Hannah also worked as Story Producer on Coronation Street under Kate Oates from 2015-2017.

Tim began his career at HIT Entertainment, developing, writing and producing animation. He was script editor for all indie dramas at CBBC, working across MI High and Grange Hill, and developing the multi-award-winning Roy with Jam Media. At Lime Pictures, Tim developed the Banff award winning The Well (BBC Switch) by Melvin Burgess and was story producer and core writer on the global hit House of Anubis (Nickelodeon). He piloted Rocket’s Island for CBBC, as well as the International Emmy-nominated Evermoor for the Disney Channel, the first UK live-action series commissioned by Disney Channel US. Tim has written for Evermoor and the Netflix Original Free Rein, and has just co-produced two standalone specials of Free Rein with Angelo Abela, as well as the show’s forthcoming third season. In early 2019 Compton was confirmed as Joint Head of Kids for Lime Pictures alongside Angelo Abela.

Angelo is joint Head of Kids & Family (alongside Tim Compton) at Lime Pictures.

Angelo has been both sides of the camera – first as an Actor and then as one-half of the award winning comedy double act – The Vicious Boys which had several TV series for Channel 4, Sky, MTV and ITV as well as touring around the world with their Live shows. Angelo then moved into writing and directing. As a Writer/Director, Angelo worked in most aspects of TV before coming to Lime Pictures including – Comedy (Get up Stand Up), Drama (Hard Knocks), Entertainment (Playing it Straight), and Kids & Family (My Parents are Aliens).

Angelo came to Lime Pictures in 2011 to be Lead Director and showrunner on Bafta nominated House of Anubis for Nickelodeon and has stayed ever since. Angelo developed and produced Free Rein for Netflix, for which he won an Emmy and was Emmy nominated as a Director. He then executive produced and was Emmy nominated as Director on Zero Chill also for Netflix.

Before starting Wise Owl Films, Mark worked at ITV Studios in Leeds and Newcastle for over 25 years, creating over 200 different series and prime-time specials for ITV, the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, including May The Best House Win, Super Tiny Animals, David Jason: My Life On Screen, Last Laugh In Vegas and The Nation’s Favourite music documentary series, telling the stories behind the songs of icons such as ABBA and The Beatles.

Mark created Shiver in 2007 – ITV Studios’ first label – and has worked closely with many of Britain’s best-loved television stars including Peter Kay and Sir Trevor McDonald as well as with some of Britain’s biggest institutions and brands, from record companies including Sony, Universal, Warner Music to the casts of series like Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and the families and estates of comedy legends including Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson and Morecambe & Wise. As well as executive producing the majority of Wise Owl’s output, Mark oversaw a number of ITV’s celebrations of the Life of the Queen, documentaries which aired in September 2022.

Lee started his television career as a freelance Assistant Director before becoming the Production Scheduler on “The Bill” until its conclusion in 2010. He joined “Coronation Street” in 2011 as the Production Scheduler and was promoted to ​Production Manager eighteen months later. He served as Head of Production there for three years until joining Lime Pictures. Lee’s other credits include Production Manager for two series of “Death in Paradise”.

Becky is the Head of HR for Lime Pictures, she started working in the world of HR in 2012 within the retail sector, joining Lime in 2014.

Lime Picture’s HR departments focus as a team is to encourage a working environment where people feel valued, supported and inspired to do their best.

“I can honestly say I love my job and feel very lucky to work alongside some truly inspirational people who are so passionate about their work.“

Ben joined Lime in 2018 and is responsible for managing the company’s finances, a role he shares across Lime Pictures and Lion Television.

He has worked in the television industry since 2012, having previously held the role of Group Controller at all3media where he was responsible for the consolidated financial reporting of the wider group.

Ben is a chartered accountant and a fellow of the ICAEW. After qualifying as an auditor in the media and entertainment sector, he gained experience in the architecture and recruitment industries prior to moving into the TV world.

Lucy is the Head of Press for Lime Picture’s scripted programming. She has over ten years’ experience working for broadcasters within television production and a decade working for national media organisations.

She joined Lime Pictures in 2014 as Senior Publicist for C4 flagship soap Hollyoaks before moving to Senior Press and Digital manager, working on award-winning campaigns around issue-based storylines.

Other programme support includes publicising Netflix’s Free Rein and ITV’s Drama Queens. Prior to joining Lime Pictures Lucy worked as a London-based TV writer after moving from news journalism into entertainment.

Peter is an award-winning Casting Director and joined Lime Pictures in 2015 taking up the position of Head of Casting. In this role, Peter oversees the casting for all scripted projects at Lime, ensuring that each production is brought to life with exceptional talent.

Peter initially trained as an Actor at The Arts Education School, London and worked professionally as an Actor across TV, Film & Theatre. This firsthand experience in front of the camera uniquely informs his work behind the scenes, where he transitioned into production and casting.

Peter’s experience spans a range of iconic productions, including Where the Heart Is, Coronation Street, Shameless, Blue Murder, and Cold Blood to name but a few. His versatility as a casting director has led him to work across various genres and platforms, from music videos and TV commercials to comedy, drama, feature films, and theatre, serving both UK and international markets.

Having cast over a thousand hours of broadcast TV drama and comedy, Peter continues to work on an array of exciting projects with recent highlights for Lime Pictures including Hollyoaks (Channel 4), Wolf King, and Zero Chill (Netflix).

In 2023 Peter was awarded the ‘Tony Warren’ award at the British Soap Awards recognising his work and contribution to the genre. Peter is a proud member of the UK Casting Directors Guild and the Casting Society of America, reflecting his commitment to the highest standards of excellence in casting.

Multi-award-winning, Cannes Lions and BAFTA-nominated creative leader with extensive experience in producing engaging multi-platform content for the Lime Pictures and All3 Media portfolio.

With over fifteen years of experience in the broadcast, corporate, commercial, and digital sectors, Graham has a diverse background as a self-shooting producer/director, editor, and multi-disciplined creative. He has produced content for some of television’s most prominent talent, social media channels, broadcasters, and brands, including Hollyoaks, TOWIE, Celebs Go Dating, Free Rein and Sexy Beasts.

Leader of a team of digital creatives at Lime Digital, producing daily content, developing social media strategies, and executing marketing campaigns. Their goal is to engage audiences, drive social change, and broaden the reach and impact of the shows and brands we collaborate with.