Hot Shots 2026: Janine Weaver

Race, identity and social inequality are at the heart of Janine Weaver’s current affairs and specialist factual documentaries. A working-class Black woman and single mother from Liverpool, Janine has carved out her space in this industry while elevating the voices of underrepresented communities.

Highlights include Panorama doc Let’s Talk About Race, where Janine sourced and built relationships with multi-generational Black British families who shared deeply personal experiences of racism and social change in the UK.

Meanwhile, on the Grierson-nominated Judi Love: Black, Female and Invisible, which explored the inequalities Black women and girls face across education, mental health, media and the criminal justice system, Janine sourced contributors and experts, and helped shape sensitive interviews that balanced lived experience with factual analysis.

Janine’s also dug into a criminal dog fighting network for Channel 4’s Untold strand, the worlds of sperm donation and psychics for Life Uncovered, and a millennial modern day African American cult for Hulu/Disney+ documentary series The Cult of Nature Boy.

On the latter, Janine won the trust of former and current cult members and the cult leader, negotiating sensitive access with survivors who had been abused and navigating their highly sensitive testimonies.

Zandland executive producer Josh Reynolds, who has worked with Janine on several projects over the past four years, says: “Janine is incredibly tapped into what people genuinely care about, and she knows exactly how to translate that cultural pulse onto the screen.”

He adds: “Whenever we need a seemingly impossible-to-find contributor, she is the first person we turn to, having repeatedly proven her exceptional ability to source and build trust with hard-to-reach individuals.

“She is unmatched in her determination to dig deeply into a story and uncover hidden narratives that elevate a documentary.”