Call my agent

An elite group of fixers are the hidden players behind the careers of many of the media's leading lights

Vivienne Clore of The Richard Stone Partnership

Vivienne Clore of The Richard Stone Partnership

Richard Bacon, Zoë Ball, Jo Brand, Rory Bremner, John Fortune, Chris Moyles, Colin Murray, Jon Ronson

"My clients need an overall career strategy, but I have the luxury of only working with people I like. If I can't have a dialogue with someone there's no point me looking after them. I think the client-agent relationship has to be very personal."

Caroline Chignell of PBJ Management

Adam & Joe, Antoine de Caunes, Simon Mayo, Mary Anne Hobbs, The League of Gentlemen (Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton), Mark & Lard, James Brown, Tracey MacLeod, Vic & Bob

"We've grown very slowly, and stayed very much the same in terms of principles and how you deal with people. We offer a management service for an agency commission."

Addison Cresswell of Off the Kerb

Jonathan Ross, Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Mark Lamarr, Phill Jupitus, Rowland Rivron, Mark Steel

"Jonathan is a very busy man and I make sure he doesn't get too stressed."

Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner of Avalon

Frank Skinner, Jenny Eclair, David Baddiel

"We don't have any creative control, our job is to make sure the artist is in control. We're employed by the artist, not the other way around."

Joanna Kaye of KBJ Management

Simon Amstell, Kirsty Young, Emma Freud, Gaby Roslin, Dermot Murnaghan, Martha Kearney, Natasha Kaplinsky, Sam Delaney, Anita Rani, Marcel Theroux, Claudia Winkleman

"We work with people creatively and try to remain select. We're a boutique agency rather than a department store."

Sue Ayton and Sue Knight of Knight Ayton Management

Samira Ahmed, Nicholas Owen, Peter Allen, Amanda Sergeant, Matthew Bannister, Jeremy Bowen, Michael Buerk, Huw Edwards, Niall Ferguson, Sandy Gall, Michael Fish, Brian Hanrahan, John Kampfner, Trevor McDonald, John Simpson, Peter Sissons, Jon Snow, Justin Webb, Zeinab Badawi, Joan Bakewell, Jennie Bond, Rosie Boycott, Victoria Derbyshire, Anna Ford, Nina Hossain, Virginia Ironside, Helen Lederer, Rosie Millard, Angela Rippon, Mary Ann Sieghart, Moira Stewart

"We're very keen on keeping an eye out for those coming through.

People think there's a quick step to becoming a presenter. There isn't."

Duncan Heath of ICM UK (International Creative Management)

Neil Morrissey, Johnny Vaughan, Steve Coogan, Lynda La Plante, Michael Caine, Lauren Laverne

"Part of my job is making sure the company doesn't get stagnant, and knowing when to launch careers stateside: Mecca."

Alex Armitage of Noel Gay

Richard Littlejohn, Danny Baker, Pete & Geoff, Jeremy Hardy,Rod Liddle, Dominic Mohan, Sarah Montague, Rageh Omaar, Amanda Platell, Eve Pollard, Jeremy Vine, Lowri Turner, Katie Ledger, Steve Punt, Kate Silverton, Sian Williams

"It's becoming more and more important, as careers get more complicated with more channels and more opportunities, that people have an agent and are well looked after."

Jon Roseman of The Roseman Organisation

Penny Smith, Kate Garraway, Roger Cook, Daisy Sampson, Ross Kelly, Lisa Aziz, Sankha Guha

"In my experience, women make the best agents. I've not done it on purpose, but I've only ever had women agents. I think they're harder, while the men are a bit soft. Without a doubt, if you look at the leading agents, they're all women."

Jo Phillips MD of Know Comment

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Lauren Booth, Shelagh Fogerty, Roy Greenslade, Andrew Pierce, Peter Tatchell, Charlie Whelan

"Know Comment is a resource for broadcasters and programme makers for intelligent, well-informed comment but our priority is to look after our clients. Newspaper columnists and journalists have been ripped off and exploited over the years because for too long people have assumed that a journalist will do something for nothing, without realising that's how they make their money."

Jan Kennedy of Billy Marsh Associates

Esther Rantzen, Bruce Forsyth, Fiona Phillips

Francis Ridley of Money

Edith Bowman, Trevor Nelson, Zane Lowe, Miquita Oliver, Melanie Sykes, Lisa Snowdon

"I would never have 100 clients in television and radio because frankly I don't think there are 100 people who are good enough."

Anita Land of Capel & Land

Kay Burley, Eamonn Holmes, Jeremy Paxman, Julie Burchill, Louis Theroux, Peter York, Michael Grade, John Sergeant, Paul Kenyon, Jonathan Meades, Imogen Lloyd Webber, Mark Austin, Ruth Langsford, Martyn Lewis, Alastair Stewart, Eddie Mair, Richard Arnold, Ross Benson, Robert Kilroy-Silk

John Webber of CSS Stellar Management, which owns PFD

Piers Morgan, Anne Robinson, Ewan McGregor, Ted Kravitz, Jon Champion, Mark Nicholas, Sir Bobby Robson, Michael Parkinson

John Noel of John Noel Management

Jono Coleman, Erika North, John Leslie, Matthew Wright, Dermot O'Leary, Davina McCall, Nemone, Diarmuid Gavin, Jade Goody, Tess Daly

"We particularly focus on nurturing and developing new talent. We provide talent with the space and resources to develop their careers in the long term."

Michael Cohen of MPC

Russ Williams, Jeremy Beadle, Wes Butters, Tony Blackburn, Steve Penk, Mike Read, DJ Spoony, James Hyman, Bam Bam, Emma Forbes, David Hamilton, John Inverdale, Pat Sharp, Jon Gaunt, Alison Hulme, Alex Lester, Jane Gazzo, Terry Christian

"If a client comes to us with an idea, we will back the idea and we will finance it. They get more out of the whole deal. We're fortunate we can pick who we want to represent, but our door is always open."

Jo Carlton of Unique Management

Lisa Burke, Gloria Hunniford, Tim Vincent, Alice Beer, John Craven

Michael Foster ARG Talent

Chris Evans, Jamie Theakston