Hot Shots 2026: Sol Wright

Prior to moving to London in early 2024, Sol Wright had only worked behind a bar. Since then, he’s helped deliver two major BBC factual series: Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping and The Mother of All Cons.

After struggling with A levels and dropping out of college, TV had seemed like a distant dream to Sol until he secured an apprenticeship with the BBC Studios Documentary Unit.

“Some people arrive in television with experience; Sol arrived with instinct,” says Michelle Clinton, a line producer with the unit. “He beat thousands of applicants to secure his place and immediately proved his capability.”

Praising Sol’s “natural judgement and emotional intelligence”, Clinton adds: “He reads situations instinctively, builds trust quickly, and brings a level of initiative and professionalism far beyond his experience. Combined with a sharp sense of humour, Sol is someone colleagues naturally rely upon.”

On one production, Sol took over from a production co-ordinator who left in March 2025, taking ownership of more than 5,000 assets from photographs and letters to sensitive medical documents, setting up all shoots and helping the compliance team to clear all rights.

Despite having no prior experience working with professional camera equipment, he also built an FX6 rig from the ground up, sourcing everything from the camera body to lenses, sound equipment and accessories.

Sol then managed the booking and maintenance of the kit, tracking each component, maintaining condition, coordinating replacements where necessary, and gathering feedback on elements of the kit that can be improved.

He also helped manage transport and accommodation logistics for more than 100 crew on the events team working on the 500 Words event at Windsor Castle.

“What is most striking about Sol is not simply that he is learning quickly, but how naturally he already understands the pressures, responsibilities and human side of television production,” Clinton concludes. “He is unquestionably one of the most exciting emerging talents I have encountered in broadcasting.”