Hot Shots 2023: Dion Hesson

Having moved to Bristol from Birmingham aged 18 to work as an apprentice journalist at BBC Bristol, Dion Hesson has become an established face in factual production.

In the past year alone, he has contributed to two high-profile documentary productions after securing a place on the BBC Studios AP Accelerator Programme.

Hesson started his TV production journey as a development researcher, where he successfully pitched a documentary on AI – titled Computer Says No – for BBC3, and was equally successful pitching We Are England, a documentary about a black woman’s passion to increase the participation of the black community in swimming, to the BBC current a­ airs strand.

He also presented an investigation into multi-level marketing for BBC3 called Instatraders, before joining the AP Accelerator Programme.

At just 24 years old, his dedication and loyalty to his work has earned enormous respect from his colleagues, with creative director at BBC Studios Kirsty Cunningham saying that his ability to “put people at ease, including anxious contributors, is remarkable”, and that he “seamlessly integrates into teams and establishes a rapport with contributors”.

On one recent production, Hesson was solely managing more than 15 contributors, as well as sourcing archive material to support the edit. He also contributed to the creation of significant sequences in the film after being given the opportunity to direct certain shoots.

“I’ve worked with Dion over the past year and am genuinely in awe at the passion, dedication and intellectual engagement he brings to everything he’s involved with,” says Cunningham.