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Meet The British Agents Paving The Way For The Next Generation Of Disabled Talent
“Peggy Ramsay used to say ‘agent’ is the most disgusting word in the English language,” ponders Adam Welsh, the founder of Divergent Talent Group (DTG). For a group of chang…
For a group of changemakers making their way through the UK’s bustling agenting landscape, the words uttered by Ramsay, one of the greats — who repped the likes of Stephen Poliakoff, David Hare and J.B. Priestley — don’t exactly chime. Just 8.2% of UK TV acting and presenting roles were filled by disabled people according to the most recent data from diversity monitor Project Diamond, with this figure at a paltry 6.5% for behind-the-camera talent — both woefully shy of the national average. Johnson and Fernandez, the latter of whom played Brenda in The Office and is a fierce advocate, are focused for the most part on access co-ordinators — a role that has sprung up on productions in recent years and is crucial to helping disabled talent integrate on set.
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