Hot Shots 2026: Miguel Caycedo

Miguel Caycedo’s taken the long route to becoming an assistant producer, but he’s quickly cemented himself as a key part of the 24 Hours in Police Custody machine.

Since graduating in media in 2013, Miguel’s tried working as a videographer, funding his passion with shop work, has taken running jobs at post-production houses and worked as an on-screen extra on everything from EastEnders to Spiderman.

Keen to work in editorial, but knowing his age precluded him from many of the entry-level schemes, Miguel ploughed on with his own short films and docs before taking a front-of-house job at The Garden. Offered the chance to be a filming assistant on Police Custody in 2022, he seized the chance and hasn’t looked back, picking up credits on docs including Critical: Between Life and Death and Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text.

Executive producer Jermaine Blake has watched Miguel naturally grow from someone the team could trust to keep things running smoothly into a sharp and thoughtful AP with a strong editorial instinct.

“Miguel’s aptitude for thinking of his feet and unflappable nature soon became a superpower within every filming scenario he was part of,” says Blake.

Above all, it’s Miguel’s emotional intelligence that has made him stand out on a series that demands sensitive handling of contributors and storylines, according to Blake.

“Miguel is quietly spoken and gentle whilst maintaining a very special way of engaging people into conversation, even in times of trauma and despair. He manages extremely difficult situation and people so carefully and intuitively whilst never breaking the spell of the observational moment.”

Blake recalls how Miguel handled one recent shoot with a family grieving over the son they had lost in a knife crime incident:

“Our exec was quite astounded to see how Miguel’s presence restored a sense of calm and confidence amongst the family. Having earnt their trust so carefully, he allowed them to find their voice and regain some control of a tragic situation. Miguel’s truly inspiring to work with and a reminder to all of us all as to how privileged we are to make films about real people.”