Justin Bodle dies aged 58

Prolific television producer, distributor and advertiser Justin Bodle has died at his home in France, aged 58.

Justin Bodle

Bodle passed away in the South of France on Tuesday and is survived by three children.

He started his career at Thames Television in the UK selling air time to advertisers. He later joined Peter Orton’s HIT Entertainment, where he learned the world of international television sales, licensing the Muppets and the Jim Henson catalogue around the world.

Always innovating, Bodle structured the first programme barter deal on UK television, placing The Muppet Show on Super Channel in 1987.

In 1995 he went on to form Power Television, just in time for the growth of commercial television across Central and Eastern Europe.

At Power, he merged his knowledge of advertising and programme sales to great success, structuring barter deals across the region for many years.

Bodle showed he was about more than just ad sales and distribution when he moved into producing high-end drama, with Emmy-winning Henry VIII starring Ray Winston, Archangel with Daniel Craig, drama series Crusoe for NBC and the Power Thrillers strand of TV Movies for Lifetime.

However, the company slipped into a controversial administration in 2010 and was acquired by Sabido Investments.

After selling Power, and then buying it back for a short time through his Purecom Entertainment International investment vehicle, Bodle moved his focus full-time to producing, most recently shooting a feature film in China.

He was also involved in UK indie incubator Hot House, set up with veteran producer Remy Blumenfeld.