Very sadly the brilliant director James Rouse has died aged only 56. James was also a great person and we mourn his passing.

Our friend and colleague James Rouse passed away on Saturday the 24th of January 2026, at the age of just 56. It provides some comfort to know that he died peacefully and was surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife Lidia and their two children, Luciana and Maximilian. 

Those of us lucky enough to have known and worked with James can point to a shared experience of his kindness and generosity. He was an incredibly giving person who always wanted to help young people trying to get into the industry; it was important to him that those coming through were supported and heard. Even after he was diagnosed with cancer in late 2024, he wanted to support young and aspiring directors and extended that generosity to the production team at Biscuit. He offered to give notes on scripts, films and treatments, and those who took him up on the offer were extremely grateful for his help.

The outpouring of love for him from producers, creatives, crew and other directors who were helped by him early in their careers has been overwhelming. They speak of his humility and his determination to ensure that everyone was heard and appreciated. He had time for everyone who came into his life. As could be seen in if you were ever in any of his long and thorough casting sessions.

We sometimes talk about people’s work being a reflection of who they are. James’s work was warm, funny, thoughtful, intense at times but always demonstrating care for those in the film, as well as for the audience – and that speaks volumes for him as a person.

James’s career included two Grand Prix at Cannes and a Commercial of the Year at the British Arrows. He received countless other industry awards including many Cannes Lions, British Arrows and D&AD pencils and was rated as the number one director by Campaign magazine. The work he made at the Viral Factory, Outsider and overseas for, among others, Trojan, Volkswagen, Harvey Nichols, Discovery Channel, Red Cross, Marmite, the BBC, Evian and Xerox inspired so many of us to want to get into (or stay) in advertising.

We are hugely proud of the work we made together over the last few years, but the most important thing across all of those projects was our appreciation of how James worked. His approach ensured everyone was treated equally, and that they knew they mattered. That is a beautiful way to operate and it inspired all of us at Biscuit.

James was one of the most wonderful people either of us have ever known, and we speak for everyone at Biscuit when we say that we were all honoured to have been his friend.

Anyone who wants to support charities close to James could give to St John’s hospice and Maggies Cancer charity.

Shawn Lacy and Rupert Reynolds-MacLean, Biscuit FIlmworks.