Aside from his work in film, Softley has also worked in television. In 2012, he directed the short film, "The Man", as part of Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents strand. The film was a satirical take on the clandestine Bilderberg Group and starred Stellan Skarsgard, Zoe Wannamaker, Hayley Atwell and Stephen Fry. In 2015, the BBC broadcast a two-part adaptation of author Sadie Jones' novel "The Outcast" which Softley he also directed. The film was warmly received by "The Guardian", with Julia Raeside writing: "The tone set by Iain Softley's beautifully restrained direction and the careful use of music creates a real feeling of loss from the start, just as in the book, but he somehow avoids all hammy visual foreshadowing and narrative signposting, so often used to gee a plot along".