Hot Shots 2024: James Brennan

Determined to make a major career switch, former barber James Brennan charmed his way into TV four years ago. Not letting the small detail of being turned down for an interview for South Shore’s internship scheme put him off, he asked to pop in for a chat anyway.

“Somehow, that led to the other applicants being stood down, and this total outsider securing a role he never should have had,” marvels the indie’s creative director, Jonny Coller. “To meet James is to like him – he has a prodigious ability to win people over.”

A pretty useful skill, of course, for researching and casting popular factual shows, as well as pitching his own ideas.

Brennan admits it was a “baptism of fire”, but it swiftly paid off: after six months as a development intern, he landed a contract as a development researcher.

“James’s unique way of thinking and his creative fl air has been a joy to watch develop and to see him become an important cog in the South Shore machine,” observes Coller. “With a refreshing outlook on the television industry, James throws himself into all his work without fear.”

Coller highlights Brennan’s success in securing luxurious London property locations for Selling Super Houses and helping to challenge preconceptions of UK towns through the contributors he found for Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts. Recently, he’s been immersing himself in the world of horse racing for ITV doc series Champions: Full Gallop.