Lucy Harrison Casting: A Cautionary Tale
You can listen to this full investigation in audio form on The 98% podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Click here to listen on Spotify, or here to listen on apple.
This story was picked up by BBC News. Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the feature on primetime news,
How It Began
In May of 2025, I was scrolling social media when I saw a post that would eventually lead to weeks worth of armchair investigation, and the uncovering - via The 98% - of a “serial scammer” and over £50,000 “stolen” from actors - victims of this financial fraud starting as young as aged 2.
Lucy Harrison Casting (LHC) - an agency that has now been exposed for fraud, financial misconduct, misrepresentation, and legal intimidation. What seemed at first like another dodgy agency turned out to be the rebranding of a known repeat offender previously known as TSG Casting/Talent Status Group.
This years-long scam was was not uncovered by a regulatory body, the authorities, or a union. It was uncovered by The 98%, just a lone actor who, after exposing investigating and helping shut down the con-artist behind BODHI TALENT in 2024, has learned to recognise the red flags of exploitation and manipulation that rogue agents use to prey on performers.
The Red Flags
What began as whispers of late payments in a Facebook group grew into a full-scale investigation. Over weeks, I gathered testimonies, documents, emails, and inconsistencies. During an internet deep dive I came across this article: The Disappearance Of TSG Casting and Talent Status. What I was soon to discover was that TSG Casting never disappeared. It became Lucy Harrison Casting - the next cover up for a scam that has lasted for who-knows how long.
The same woman who ran TSG Casting (a talent agency that disappeared and ran off with with actor’s money) appeared to be operating as “Lucy Harrison” - a fabricated identity not connected to any Companies House filings, and with no trace online outside of LHC’s own website and socials. This alias was seemingly used to continue the same patterns of misconduct under a new name.
What Was Uncovered
There is a lot to share in regards to this ‘case’, and you can hear the most important findings in ‘Lucy Harrison Casting: A Cautionary Tale’ on The 98% podcast. But, in a nutshell: Lucy Harrison Casting was not who, or what, it claimed to be. What tipped me off to sensing something dodgy was going on was that LHC was using a company called “Happy House Productions” to handle their finances. Actors were told to invoice HHP in order to be paid for jobs. This is not standard practice and seemed to blur the lines of accountability over who was actually responsible for paying actors - a tactic that seemed to be benefitting the agency, and not the talent who were waiting months, and in some cases years, for money owed - from everything from recall fees, to huge commercial buyouts.
Typically, an agent invoices the production company directly. The payment is then deposited into a client account - a protected fund that the agent has no legal right to dip into. Once the agreed commission is taken, the remaining fee is sent to the actor, along with a remittance - a document showing the original payment amount, what was deducted, and what the actor has received.
When actors started chasing Lucy Harrison Casting for payment from jobs they had worked on, LHC claimed that they had nothing to do with the finances and to contact Happy House Productions instead, insisting that the two companies were totally separate and unrelated. This has since been proven false considering the director of HHP appears to be married to Marianna - the woman who seems to be operating Lucy Harrison Casting, and the same person previously behind TSG Casting. Once Happy House Productions entered into liquidation after actors starting speaking out online following posts from The 98%, LHC shifted the narrative - stating that they were suspended from casting platform Spotlight due to HHP’s financial situation. LHC even tried to blame me (in unfounded legal threats) for “them” going into liquidation, with no mention of HHP…so were they connected to Happy House or not? It seemed they couldn’t keep their own story straight. They were also clearly unaware that I had already discovered a charge filed in January 2025 showing that Happy House Productions had entered into a financing agreement with Apollo Business Finance, a company that provides what’s known as invoice financing - a system where a business receives most of the value of an invoice upfront from a third party who then collects the full amount from the client later and keeps a percentage as their fee.
The Bigger Picture
We can learn a lot from this situation, which is why - in the podcast episode - I break down my armchair investigation from start to finish, so that you can learn how to do your own due diligence when working with an agent. I walk through the red flags I spotted on the LHC website, what I uncovered through Companies House, and how to access public records that anyone can find. I also explain some of the laws and legalities around payments - things every actor should know, but that no one ever really teaches us.
For example, in the UK it is unlawful for an agent to hold onto an actor’s money for more than ten days. If a production company sends your fee to your agent, and that agent fails to transfer it to you within ten days - that is illegal. There is no reason for you to not have that money right away. It is also illegal for an agent to access or use any money held in the client account. That money belongs to you, the client - not the agent. So, if an agent ever says they’re having “cash flow problems”, or are unable to pay invoices themselves, that is not to be taken lightly. An agent should never have cash flow issues, because the money coming in should be going directly back out to the actors who did the work, minus the agents agreed commission.
When Lucy Harrison Casting launched, some actors were told they needed to pay for headshots through the agency in order to be represented, or to be put forward to work. It is unlawful in the UK for an agent to require any sort of fee or paid-for service to join the agency. No agent should ever make you pay upfront for classes, workshops, headshots, coaching, or admin fees as a condition of signing with them. This was reported to Equity in February 2024, but the report was dismissed and no action was taken. 18 months later and dozens of actors would be experiencing withheld fees amounting to tens of thousands of pounds - money they will never see.
Some clients discovered discrepancies between what LHC invoiced production companies and what they were told they were paid. Children have had wages withheld or stolen entirely. Some clients had no idea they were owed buyouts or re-air fees that were paid to the agent months ago - until they contacted production directly.
When challenged, LHC and Marianna resorted to gaslighting, manipulation, and, in some cases, intimidation. As well as not being transparent with clients and misleading industry professionals (including casting directors), LHC even sent emails to Equity and Spotlight about a former client, in what appeared to be an attempt to keep her quiet about her experience. I’ve seen these shocking emails myself, described by the actor as “slanderous”. Instead, this actor thankfully used her voice to warn others in a whistleblowing interview in The 98% episode.
I also received threats personally - emails that seemed to be AI-written legal jargon. Sent in an attempt, I believe, to scare me into not releasing the information I had gathered after I offered them a right to reply for the podcast episode, which I aimed to release in good faith and in the interest of the public. I was somewhat expecting this kind of threatening language and intimidation, having seen it used as a tactic to silence people I had helped in the past. (Where, I have learned, that just because someone threatens you with legal action doesn’t mean they have a case.)
I’ve even heard from further actors, and parents of child actors, about other agents out there threatening them with legal action for things such as speaking directly to production, or sharing their opinion on social media. (Things you are well within your rights of doing and, FYI, there can be no “defamation case” if what you are sharing is true, especially when you have evidence!)
What We Can Learn
LHC are now under investigation by The Employment Agencies Standard Inspectorate, and Marianna and Edward Lightfoot will have yet another liquidated company to add to their list. But this story is not yet over, and many involved feel like not enough is being done. The main worry is that the people behind this years-long scam will simply continue, as they have before, while those they have exploited are left to deal with financial instability, shame, regret, a loss of confidence, and a sense of distrust that may never fully leave them - without much assurance that something like this won’t happen again. Even the police and action fraud have said there is no case for them to look into despite serious crime happening!
Hopefully we, as an industry, can learn from this. Not just in regards to specific individuals from rogue agencies, but by looking more critically at how the system itself is allowed to operate. There must be change: actual regulation around who can become an agent, stricter codes of conduct, more safeguarding in place when things go wrong, and more scrutiny regarding people with sole management of other people’s money. In the meantime, we as actors can start to take our power back. As Karis, the former LHC client, said on The 98%:
“I understand my worth. I understand my value. I have enough self-respect and integrity, confidence and dignity, to know when I can stand up and shout loudly. I won’t be taken advantage of.”
Speaking out makes a difference. Don’t let fear keep you small. Anyone who makes you feel like speaking out against wrongdoing will “ruin your career” is someone who benefits from the fear that myth creates. A good agent wouldn’t want you to feel intimidated - they would want you to feel empowered.
This all started unravelling because a few actors started speaking online, and then joined together to figure things out and seek help. Those who take advantage of others in this industry have benefitted from a system built on silence and fear for too long. The best way to dismantle that system is to use your voice - for yourself, and for others. Because the more we shine a light on what certain people would rather keep in the dark, the fewer places they have left to hide.
Read a summary of key findings from the LHC investigation here.
TIMELINE
OCT 2022: TSG Casting applied to voluntarily dissolve the agency on Companies House. (I believe because complaints began surfacing regarding late payments.)
DEC 2022: Some TSG clients receive an email from “Lucy Harrison” (reportedly Marianna/Maz/the woman who ran TSG posing as an alias) saying she was “leaving” TSG and “starting her own agency” Lucy Harrison Casting. No formal announcement is made to clarify TSG’s closure.
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EARLY 2023: LHC becomes active. Actors are pressured into purchasing headshots directly from the agency to be considered for work - an unlawful and unethical practice. Marianna attends certain photography sessions but introduces herself as “Lucy.”
MARCH 2023: People are told Lucy is off on bereavement leave after the “sudden death of her mother.”
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EARLY FEB 2024: The 98% helps expose conman agent behind ‘Bodhi Talent’ and raises awareness around the issue of rogue agencies and bad practice.
LATE FEB 2024: The 98% receives the first email from a former LHC client detailing LHC requiring actors to pay for headshots with “Lucy” in order to be represented and put forward for work. LHC is reported to UK Actor Union Equity, and it is dismissed.
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JAN 2025: Happy House Productions (the company that handles the finances of LHC and payments to actors) enters into a charge agreement with Apollo Finance, a third-party financing company. This indicates the agency had borrowed against future earnings while still owing money to actors.
EARLY MAY 2025: Social media chatter opens a dialogue regarding late payments and questionable correspondence from LHC and Happy House Productions.
MID MAY 2025: LHC clients receive a round robin email saying Lucy is “off work with PTSD after a sudden bereavement.” People are told on the phone it is Lucy’s mother that has died (again?!). Maz and Allison (the ‘bookers’ at LHC) claim they do not have access to the accounts for people to be paid, but that Lucy will be back end of June.
LATE MAY 2025: Alexa of The 98% begins her armchair investigation into LHC, TSG, and the woman behind the agencies, Marianna. Advice is posted on social media about how to go after money owed. LHC clients begin requesting remittances from production companies. Discrepancies are confirmed between what was invoiced and what actors received, if money was ever received at all.
JUNE 2025: Legal threats and libellous emails are issued from LHC to silence those speaking out. The 98% goes ahead with publishing the episode unveiling information gathered.
Regulatory bodies confirm that LHC and Happy house are the same entity. Investigations begin and LHC are suspended from UK casting directory Spotlight. Happy House supposedly goes into liquidation but some LHC clients receive an email saying LHC intends to continue under a new name (same pattern as what happened with TSG!) and that Lucy won’t be returning. LHC cites an “online smear campaign.”
JULY 2025: As actors and parents of child actors chase pay and ask production companies for remittances, evidence emerges that all manner of money had been withheld or stolen.
EASI continue to investigate, some actors aim to take Marianna and Edward Lightfoot to small claims court, LHC continues to try and continue working under Happy House Productions.
The website and Facebook page for LHC remain live, that is until The BBC covers the story.
Written by Alexa Morden