UK’s Independent Talent Appoints Three Agents To Its Board As Co-Chairman Steps Back

EXCLUSIVE: The co-chairman of Independent Talent Group, the UK agency that reps Claire Foy and Daniel Craig, has stepped back from his management role, with three agents joining its board.

Paul Lyon-Maris, who has repped the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Derek Jacobi, is no longer a director of the firm but will remain as an agent within the company, Deadline is told.

Lyon-Maris is being replaced on the board by a trio of agents: Jessica Sykes, Jane Epstein and Paul Stevens. Founder Duncan Heath remains as Chairman and MD Sally Long-Innes is Co-Chair.

“I am delighted to welcome Jane, Paul and Jess to the board,” Heath, who has been running Independent under its current name for more than 15 years, told Deadline.

Independent is a big player in the UK agency space, with a client roster including established actors such as Jodie Comer, Lennie James and Elisabeth Moss, as well as breakout stars like Heartstopper’s Kit Connor.

Deadline revealed in January that the company’s revenue had surged in the pre-strike financial year, although it warned at that point that tricky times were to come. Variety reported last June that the agency was in a period of “due diligence” with an unknown private equity buyer, but the sale did not materialize in 2023.