Well, put simply the answer is no.
No you don’t need a darkroom.
No you don’t need expensive equipment.
No you don’t need complicated temperature control.
The image above was developed, basically, in my kitchen sink. No darkroom. No expensive equipment apart from a developing tank you can get for under £20. No complicated temperature control apart from a washing up bowl and a kettle, and a cheap thermometer.
To prove how easy it is I’m going to be demonstrating how it’s done at Add The Colour Cafe on 17th February at 6:30pm. I’ll even let the audience take the snaps I’m going to process. We”ll start with taking the photos and hopefully end up projecting the scanned negatives about an hour later.
Obviously there’s huge scope for failure, so if you’re the kind of person who likes to watch tightrope walking or speedway then you might want to come along 
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191446097541870
Also presenting will be Andrew White. Andrew, known to flickr users as monkeymillions, is an avid collector of old film cameras – and he’ll be giving tips on where to find bargains, how to spot the good ones, and how to use them.