Hot Shots 2025: Tom Cross

From supporting creative decisions and practising duty of care to building knowledge of global tax reliefs and mapping out multi-partner funding, London-based Tom Cross is proving to be a production executive with an impressively broad skillset.

It’s helped Passion Documentaries reach high standards on features such as Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Helmand: Tour Of Duty, Caroline Aherne: Queen Of Comedy and Wham!.

“Tom is that rarest of gems in production management – an executive who is always ready to say yes to the creative needs of the production team, without ever losing control of the finances,” says Passion Docs head of production Charlotte Howard. “He’s helped to deliver critically acclaimed, award-winning, premium factual series and feature documentaries to partners around the world.”

Cross arrived at Passion as a freelance line producer in 2020, and joined the staff as a production executive two years later.

A significant part of the promotion was his work on the two-part documentary Kill List: Hunted By Putin’s Spies for Channel 4, which was released in cinemas as Antidote in 2024. For this, over the course of four years, he led a team working on a sensitive subject, in an undisclosed location, navigating and facilitating safe filming activities while caring for his team.

“Time and time again, Tom has displayed remarkable composure in high-pressure situations, and he is always pivotal in creating supportive working environments that prioritise the care and mental wellbeing of contributors and the production team alike,” says Howard.