Hot Shots 2026: Julia Henderson

Asked by a commissioner how she had secured a major hospital to sign an access agreement in record time, Julia Henderson had the perfect reply: “I live there now.”

Similarly, when a group of 12 surgeons proved reluctant to appear on screen in the primetime 5 series, she turned up to their medical conference at a hotel in Wembley, took out a USB stick and presented to them during their lunch break – and left with all of them signed up to take part.

Julia’s first Brinkworth commission as development producer, Channel 4’s Do You Know This Man?, aired in May, was a passion project that took three years of development to get to the screen.

“When I care about a case, I am like a rottweiler, not willing to let go,” she says.

Brinkworth chief executive Malcolm Brinkworth echoes this, describing Julia as “tenacious, imaginative, intelligent and thorough in everything she does - she never gives up on an idea she believes in”.

Born in Cape Town, Julia initially worked in the US, making her British TV debut at Love Productions, where she over saw brand development and talent management for contestants on The Great British Bake Off.

Stints at Lime Pictures, Electric Robin and Objective followed before she made her home at Brinkworth four years ago.

“I have heard Julia navigate incredibly difficult conversations with contributors with enormous care and genuine empathy,” says fellow development producer Kate Nowicki. “Whether in hospitals or working on the missing person case she is currently handling, she is delivering gold-standard contributor care at all times.”