Hot Shots 2024: Leah Newman

Ask Jim Nally, producer/director of The Slate Works’ forthcoming BBC2 doc series Three Weeks In July, about Leah Newman and he’ll describe a production manager who is “steely, dogged and a nerveless negotiator when required” – yet equally strong in her people skills.

On the 7/7 documentary, “she offered patience, empathy and pastoral care to her colleagues, no matter what the pressure or deadline”, he says. And as production co-ordinator for Channel 4 documentary The Simpler Life, she was the liaison for the featured Amish family – who were “tricky contributors to say the least”, according to Newman.

Newman’s emotional intelligence developed as a working-class student paying her way through university with a range of customer-facing jobs. Her sensitivity also means she’s keen to help others in the industry. The Slate Works co-founder and managing director Serena Kennedy says: “Leah’s been instrumental in nurturing junior production talent, ensuring they receive a breadth of experience, including on location. I have no doubt she is a senior manager and head of production in the making.”

Newman was brought into The Slate Works for a few weeks as a junior production manager. She had never managed budgets, says Kennedy, “nor had she seen a cost manager – a beast of a thing these days given our tracking of sustainability and regional spend”. Six months later, she’s not only still with the company, but as production manager for The Accidental Prime Minister, the ITV doc about Theresa May. And she’s responsible for budgets of more than £2m.

It’s an example of how quickly Newman has developed – to exacting standards. Nally says: “My filming crew loves her attention to detail and thoughtfulness. She somehow anticipates every possible setback or obstacle in advance of even the most complex shoot.”