‘The almost 250 entries we had this year demonstrate, there is talent in abundance’
“You don’t get a lot of praise in this industry,” one of last year’s Hot Shots told me recently. “You do a project, it goes on TV, you get paid and that’s about it.”
For him, being named a Hot Shot was a much-needed reminder that “you’re doing a really good job, something of which you can be proud”.
There might not be a lot of praise in the industry, but as the almost 250 entries we had this year demonstrate, there is talent in abundance – people who continually surprise and delight their colleagues with their initiative, creativity and dedication to making great television. And there are, here and there, execs willing to recognise that talent, and to shout about it.
When judging Hot Shots, editor-in-chief Chris Curtis and I ask regularly ask ourselves the same question: is this person just good at their job, or are they bringing something else to the table? On one level, this question feels slightly ridiculous – people absolutely deserve to be recognised for being good at their jobs, and I feel confident in saying that every single person who applied to Hot Shots is great at what they do.
But the 60 people who have made it onto this year’s list have all gone above and beyond – whether that’s in winning new business, coming up with brilliant ideas or pulling a production back from the brink of disaster. As so many of the testimonials point out, things quite simply wouldn’t have been the same without them.
In a year of difficult market conditions but brilliant British telly, that really is something of which to be proud.
- Rebecca Cooney is the insight editor of Broadcast
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