Kate Bone originally trained as an actress, then moved into the Film industry nearly 20 years ago. From Production Coordinator on many major projects including World War Z, Sherlock Holmes & Maleficent she then went into casting and has been working for Casting Directors Nina Gold & Robert Sterne for nearly ten years.

Kate currently continues to cast on the multiple awarding winning Netflix’ The Crown and has done from the very first season. Other recent casting projects include Chernobyl, Succession (UK casting), The Little Stranger, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Game of Thrones and The Imitation Games amongst many others.

Louise Kiely CDG CSA – Louise has a Degree in Law from University College Cork. She also trained at The Gaiety School of Acting. She was an Actor before setting up LKC in 2005. In 2020 Louise was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2021, she was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award & the co-recipient of the CDG Award for Best Casting in a Limited Series. Both for her work on TV Series NORMAL PEOPLE.

In 2023, Louise was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award for her work on THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. Louise and her team also had the honour of casting Animations WOLFWALKERS & SCREECHERS REACH for Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon. and Louise is a member of IFTA, BAFTA & The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science

Olissa Rogers is a Casting Director working on a freelance basis. She began working in the industry back in Germany in 2008. She worked there until 2016 mainly on TV Series. In 2016 she met casting director, Jeremy Zimmermann, and went to be casting assistant for him on several films until 2018. She then moved on to become casting assistant to Kharmel Cochrane for commercials and TV/Film projects.

In March 2019 Olissa was approached by Theo Park and was working on big TV projects (e.g Ted Lasso) as her associate where she was until October 2019. From November 2019 until February 2020 Olissa was one of the casting associates to Amy Hubbard. Olissa has also worked for Fiona Weir as one of her associates from June 2020 – April 2022.

Gillian Hawser is an internationally renowned casting director who has worked for over thirty years across film, television and theatre in the UK, Europe and the US. From Bill Kenwright to Warner Bros, Sony, HBO and Universal, she has developed close working relationships with leading producers on both sides of the Atlantic to deliver casts of exceptional talent, imagination and diversity.

Gillian has a wealth of experience, having cast over 150 titles on IMDB alone. Her range is notable, from Hollywood star vehicles to independent projects and groundbreaking shorts. She mentors a number of emerging directors, producers and casting directors and works on pro bono projects each year to support the next generation of British filmmaking talent.

For more than the past decade Gillian has been a prominent presence at the heart of the British Academy. Following eight years as an elected member of BAFTA Council, for the past four years she has been successively elected by her peers onto BAFTA Film Committee. During this time, she has been particularly effective in advocating for both more diversity across the industry and in fighting for recognition of the vital role of the casting director when it comes to positively transforming its image.

She is proud to have been instrumental in the process that led to the new Casting awards for film and television that was launched in 2020. Gillian has been strongly connected to BIFA for many years.

This year, she had the privilege of chairing all the performance juries for the BIFA Awards. She is a member of the Casting Directors Guild and serves on the European Board of the Casting Society of America.

Claudia Blunt’s casting career began with Emmy winning Suzanne M. Smith CDG, CSA working on a number of projects for film and television before latterly taking the post of Casting Associate to Kate Ringsell CDG, CSA. In August 2020, she took the decision to launch Claudia Blunt Casting and has been happily building a slate of independent features ever since.

Her previous work includes multiple short and feature length film projects, including ITVX’s ‘The Effects of Lying’ and the upcoming ‘Bonus Track’ which was selected as part of Cannes Great8 and will premiere internationally at TIFF. She has played a key role in casting multiple projects for clients including HBO, Fox Searchlight, Sky Atlantic, Amazon, Canal+, Netflix, Paramount, Starz, Sony Pictures Television, the BBC and Disney+.

Claudia serves on the European Board of the Casting Society of America, and in 2023 was delighted to be invited to join BAFTA as part of their Connect scheme.

Bonnie founded Bonnie & Betty Agency 14 years ago now, after working at various different agencies previously. Bonnie and Betty are now one of the largest kids agencies across the board, loved by many as being one of the only agencies to have both model and talent/acting divisions in such volume, meaning their client list is extremely varied and their reach far and wide. They currently have kids modelling in high end fashion campaigns, performing in the West End, voicing well known animated characters, featuring in major feature films and popular TV series, as well as being spotted in major advertisement campaigns all over the world.

Time to Shine Agency has developed into one of the UK’s leading entertainment agencies for adults and children of all ages. We submit for all Stage, TV, Film & Modelling jobs in the UK and Internationally.

As two working mums, we set up our agency in 2015. Since then, we have worked hard (often into the small hours) to build a thriving agency and establish ourselves as a leading organisation within the creative/entertainment industry. We have a strong level of understanding from a parent’s perspective, which was gained from us having our own children working in the industry. Therefore, we can appreciate the level of commitment that it takes to gain success within!

We have worked with many leading brands, production companies, organisations & individuals etc. These include: Musical Theatre Productions such as Thriller, The Snow Man, Matilda & Bedknobs & Broomsticks etc. Organisations such as Heathrow, NSPCC, Channel 4, West End Play Productions, Kellogg’s, Nike, Pinewood Studios, Sky, Various Music Artists, Disney, BBC, Netflix & ITV etc to name only a few!

Poppy Meadows, Director of Broadcasting Kids has spent much of her career working with young people. Having grown up as a dedicated member of a local youth theatre, Poppy went on to train at East 15 drama school where she won the acclaimed Lillian Bayliss award. Whilst completing her training at East 15 she also directed multiple performances within the youth theatre there working with children of all ages.

Following her training at drama school she went on to spend many years as a successful actor touring regional theatres, so she understands what it’s like to be on the other side! Poppy’s love of theatre has not diminished and she continues to work with young people in theatre today. As working parent’s themselves, Poppy and the team at broadcasting kids hold family values at the heart of everything they do, they are always at the end of a phone to support and guide parents and their children.

Michelle Kirby is founder & director of leading actor’s agency, Daisy & Dukes Ltd. She has many years experience within the creative industry and has gained a fountain of knowledge during this time.

An agent for over 14 years, Michelle understands parents’ priorities. She will do all she can to make sure parents have minimal stress and young actors feel nurtured and confident to gain experiences that will support them and feed their creativity.

She sits on the Children’s Working Group Committee within the PMA (Personal Managers Association) and contributed in producing the ‘Good Practice Guidelines when Working with Children in Theatre and on Screen For Parents, Agents, Casting Directors and Producers’.

She was invited to sit on the ‘Casting and Representing Children – Best Practice, Licensing and Rates Panel’ for Spotlight’s Industry Forum in 2018, was guest speaker on Spotlight’s podcast sessions chatting about how to get the best out of an Agent & Parent relationship and was guest speaker at Young Talent Expo 2022.
Her passion, drive and commitment is evident daily in the overall running of the agency. She is proud of what Daisy & Dukes has become and excited at what lies ahead for all of the talent she works with. Michelle lives in Hertfordshire with her hubby, 3 sons and Hugo the Sharpei.

Tom Gribby is Co-Director of HOST Talent Group and one of the UK’s leading talent managers, with a focus on strategic talent profile building, TV, Film & Podcast development and brand licensing and collaborations.

Following an extensive career as a performer and creative within TV, Film and Theatre, Tom migrated over to the world of “agenting” and now heads up a large team who look after an elite talent roster of actors, TV personalities and influencers globally. Tom also made his producing debut in 2020 with the West End production of “The Pirate Queen” at the London Coliseum, starring Rachel Tucker and Hannah Waddingham.