Debi Allen Associates

Debi Allen is an Essex girl. She studied drama at Ridley Studios under her brilliant teacher Peggy Batchelor who she now represents. Not surprisingly she chose a University as far away from Essex as possible and spent three years at The University of Ulster at Coleraine. Whilst at University she spent a term in Glasgow during their year of Culture (it was 1990) and worked for TAG (part of Glasgow's Citizens Theatre). Then began her love affair with the Edinburgh Festival where she spent four summers working at the Fringe Festival in various capacities at The Gilded Balloon and Greyfriars Kirkhouse. On graduating she worked at the original Jongleurs comedy club in Battersea. A year later Debi set up Wizard Entertainment (with the help of Billy Marsh Associates) with an Australian agent Brendan Long. Brendan had had the genius idea of putting Rolf Harris into the University Circuit. It was a huge success and they also secured Rolf a slot on the main stage at The Glastonbury festival. When Brendan returned to Australia Debi was made an agent at Billy Marsh Associates and continued to work with the likes of Rolf Harris and the lovely (and much missed) Mark Speight. After nearly six years Debi accepted the new challenge of joining the literary agents Roger Hancock Ltd to set up a performers department. Debi spent five very happy years at Roger Hancock which culminated in her diversifying her client base from actors, presenters and stand ups into writers too. In 2002 Debi was headhunted to set up RDF Management for the RDF Media group. She started the company with her then assistant Vic Murray and twenty clients and built it up over seven years to an agency with five agents, three support staff and over a 120 clients. On April 1st 2009 she launched Debi Allen Associates Ltd.