Hot Shots 2024: Shannon Hamilton

How many Hot Shots can say they’ve changed the way that commissioners ask producers to pitch to them?

Impressed by Shannon Hamilton’s energy and maturity as a Northern Ireland Screen trainee, Stellify Media chief executive Matthew Worthy said he thought nothing of asking her to take the lead on a BBC3 pitch.

“Shannon didn’t flinch and did such a good job that Fiona Campbell insisted that in future Northern Ireland tenders, all companies should use a junior member of staff to pitch,” he says.

Worthy had to wait to take Hamilton on full-time, however. After her traineeship, she returned to Strident Media, where she had previously held her first producing role on farming series Rare Breed, having been selected for NI Screen’s Aim High Scheme. She went on to be development producer on the indie’s first BBC3 commission, Hunting The Catfish Crime Gang.

Bangor-born Hamilton’s rise has been rapid. Though initially finding it hard to get into TV after graduating, it was only two years from taking a job at KFC to gaining her first producer credit, and only one more year after that to become a development producer.

After rejoining Stellify, Hamilton’s pitch to Disney+ secured the indie’s first documentary development funding from a streamer.

“Shannon jumps into everything with a can-do attitude,” says Worthy. “Her willingness to learn and adapt quickly makes a difference to the team and the work that we produce together.”