Hot Shots 2026: India Meade

Fans of BBC1’s The Other Bennet Sister have India Meade to thank for ushering the biggest new UK drama launch since March 2025 to screens. The first to read the adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel as a submission to the BBC, India immediately recognised the Jane Austen-inspired story’s creative and audience potential. Championing it through to greenlight in 2024, she then supported Bad Wolf on the production as a BBC trainee script editor.

“India has a wonderful foresight for putting audiences first and always seems tapped into what they’re missing,” says BBC Drama commissioning editor Rebecca Ferguson.

“Her editorial instincts are second to none, demonstrating courage of her convictions to champion stories that she loves – even if that might mean being a ‘solo voice in the crowd’ on occasion.

“This foresight at submission stage, repeated persistence, and a particular eye for adaptations with a twist, was the catalyst for bringing The Other Bennet Sister to life, for which she should be immensely proud.”

India has also racked up credits on The Guest, Dope Girls, Men Up, The Listeners and series two of both The Night Manager and The Responder in her four years at BBC Drama.

India started out in 2017 as an editorial intern at Film4 before moving to Hat Trick, initially in scripted development then as a junior researcher on Have I Got News For You and a production assistant on ITV’s Trigger Point.

As someone with Cerebral Palsy, India overcame initial barriers to entry but fought to carve out her place in scripted development. Steadfast in her determination to help make TV more authentically representative from the ground up, on both sides of the camera, she promotes the BBC and Netflix Disabled Writers Initiative within the BBC Drama team.

“India has excelled, having never backed down in the face of challenges she faced as a disabled entrant into our industry,” says Ferguson.

“She has shown an innate love for television and ability to see a project holistically, actively engaging in all departments surrounding commissioning to make a programme as great as it can be. Her immeasurable support to me as commissioning editor, on both development and productions, cannot be overstated.”