Hot Shots 2026: Tom Beale

Moving boats, sub-zero conditions in Lapland, historic palaces and castles - it’s all grist to the mill for Tom Beale, who’s set up all manner of logistically challenging shoots in the first four years of his career.

After training in production management and working as a production coordinator on A Place in the Sun and Cooking With the Stars, Tom boarded the first series of Bowled Media’s Narrow Escapes when he was just 22.

“This was a huge step up for Tom, but he already felt like a safe pair of hands,” says the indie’s creative director Heidi Gomes. “He handled every step of the production with an immense sense of calm and was hugely practical and creative, as well as keeping a steady eye on the budget.”

Across three series – 65 episodes in all – Tom has managed more than a thousand boat shoots, using location apps What3words and canalmapper in place of regular call sheets to get crew from multiple regions to last-minute filming locations in rural areas where wifi is intermittent.

“Tom works all the hours, though he’s mindful of breaks, especially with the crews and team,” says Gomes. “He never complains and is always a step ahead. He’s the perfectly calm support I need, especially when there is the inevitable drama.

“With Tom, there is a solution to every problem, and he handles it with a maturity far beyond his years.”

Other productions benefiting from Tom’s touch include 5’s four-part series Blenheim Palace: Behind the Grandeur, C4 two-parter Europe’s Secret Christmas Markets and single doc Santaland: The Countdown to Christmas, and ITV’s upcoming single A Hever Castle Christmas. He’s managed shoots at -15 Celsius in Lapland, organising European carnets, and assembling a minibus of 16 people travelling to multiple locations across three countries.

“Tom has organised more strategic and complicated shoots, challenging logistical shoots and foreign filming than some people twice his age,” says Gomes. “He really is a star - we wish we had enough commissions to have him work with us all the time.”