Rebecca Walsh
28 April, 2025
What's On

NI BBC presenter James Blake teases major TV return

Northern Ireland’s rising television star James Blake has teased a return to TV screens, hinting that a major announcement is on the way.

James Blake and Zara McDermott at the RTS Awards

In a recent Instagram reel to his growing audience, Blake said: "People have been messaging me a lot asking when's my next TV show or documentary coming out. Well, there's going to be an announcement very soon. I can't say much yet but once it hits the newspapers, I'll find out what I can share with you all!"

James Blake BBC Presenter
James Blake BBC Presenter Credit: James Blake

Link to reel:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI2Aha0I2-H/?igsh=MXY0NWdhdGNxdGM2cg==

James Blake BBC Presenter
James Blake BBC Presenter Credit: James Blake

Originally from Lisburn, now based between Northern Ireland and Manchester, James Blake has quickly become one of the most exciting new presenters in British television.

His recent BBC Three documentaries, Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang and Hunting the Online Sex Predators, were met with critical and commercial success — drawing millions of viewers across BBC platforms and securing international releases on Amazon Prime.

His first BBC Three documentary, Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang, exposed the hidden world of online identity theft, following victims and investigators as they tackled organised scams on social media platforms. This led to the jaw dropping discovery that often online scammers are victims themselves and are trafficked into scam compounds, which James visited in South East Asia, Myanmar.

His follow-up, Hunting the Online Sex Predators, took a hard-hitting look at the rise of online grooming and sexual exploitation, taking him from Belfast to New York and then to the Philippines, James highlighted the risks faced by young people and the efforts to bring offenders to justice by a global task force. During the film James accompanies the police on raids in Manila and the UK.

Blake’s work in documentary-making earned him the prestigious Breakthrough Talent Award from the Royal Television Society, marking him as a major name to watch.

While followers online have been busy speculating about his next move, some comments wondering if he is going to be appearing on popular show Love Island, Blake remains tight-lipped — promising that official news will be revealed in the coming weeks.