Exclusive: British agency Bodhi Talent has been accused of exploiting children’s acting dreams by charging their parents illegal acting fees worth hundreds of pounds.
A Deadline investigation last week revealed how Manchester-based Bodie was accused of sending fake invitations to agents to self-tape auditions and breaching regulations by withholding actors’ salaries.
The company, which has represented soap stars including Emma Rigby, has since faced a reckoning. Several clients have left the agency and others have publicly declared they are owed money, including actor Luke Anthony Jr., who claimed in an emotional Twitter/X video that he was not paid for a job last year.
Deadline can now reveal that a group of parents are on a warpath after claiming they were “scammed” by Bodhi’s sister agency, Luna Kids Casting, which was set up to cast children and claims to have worked with the likes of Nickelodeon and the BBC. .
Some parents reported the agency to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, which said it was prepared to investigate Luna’s compliance with the Employment Agencies Act. Others said they were also exploring legal action.
Archie Burnell, founder of Bodhi and Luna, did not respond to requests for comment about his children’s agency. Sources said Purnell was “hiding” their messages after saying he would take “a few days” away from the office after the deadline was revealed. He has previously denied allegations regarding his professional conduct.
Deadline was privy to a WhatsApp group where more than a dozen parents were shocked by their experience with Luna. Individuals were charged fees of up to 500 pounds ($627) to get acting roles for their children, but many complained that the jobs never materialized.
The agency organized at least three open testing days last year as part of the recruitment drive. Parents who attended these tests estimated that about 20 children participated in at least one of the sessions.
“Archie led the session, he was very charismatic, (and) he spent a lot of time getting the kids excited about the industry, and building their hopes up. “I especially remember him talking a lot about the money they were going to get,” recalls one parent who preferred not to reveal About his identity.
Those who were successful were sent a letter of offer and contract, detailing the cost of signing, with personal photographs being the largest fee. Parents were asked to put up to £180 in cash in an envelope and hand it to a receptionist on the day of their child’s photo shoot at Bodhi-owned Access Studios.
UK laws allow agents to charge for photographs, but the cost must be the same as the price of the photo shoot, and reps must not make a profit from the activity, according to a source who is an expert on agency regulations.
Anthony Jr., the actor who claims Buddy owes him money, said in a video on X that he also works as a photographer and did four photo shoots for Luna “as a favor” to Purnell. In Video
Furthermore, Luna’s contract reviewed by Deadline states that the client must pay a monthly fee of £12 (£14.40 including VAT) for the cost of ‘promotion and publicity’ for a child actor. This is likely to be illegal under UK legislation because it is not an “acceptable service for a specific outcome”, according to the agency’s regulatory expert.
Luna asked parents to pay an initial fee of £55 (£66 with VAT) to upload their children’s details to a website, which may be permissible under the regulations. Luna also received around £120 from parents for setting up their children’s profiles on Spotlight, which is in line with what European Actors Directory charges for an annual membership.
Other terms in Luna’s contract included charging a 10% commission on facility fees and requiring notice periods from clients, both of which were below industry standards as set by the Association of Young Artist Agents (AYPA). Luna is not a member of AYPA.
At no point did the contract reviewed by Deadline state that Luna customers were entitled to a full refund if they pulled out of the agency within 30 days. Experts say that the so-called “cooling-off” period must be explicitly stated in writing. Luna’s only mention of a refund is a statement that says: “All agency fees are non-refundable and cannot be rolled over or paused.”
At least three parents said they had little or no contact from Luna after their children signed with the agency last year. Six parents told Deadline that their children had not booked work through Luna, although two said their children were sent for auditions.
“I called him (Purnell) just last month to find out why he was so quiet. He said it was a writers’ strike and things should be better now,” one parent said.
Natalie Wright, whose 12-year-old daughter became a Luna client last July, said she raised her concerns after “hearing nothing” from Purnell, despite regularly paying Luna. In an email, Purnell accused Wright of a “lack of trust” and suggested she move on. He added: “As much as we hate to lose her (Wright’s daughter), I don’t want to feel like we’re going around in circles.”
“I feel very angry. I feel like we were robbed when you look at what he was saying in the test, compared to what was actually delivered,” Wright told Deadline.
Deadline revealed a series of allegations about Purnell, including that he sent representatives illegal summaries of self-recording tests and failed to observe industry best practices in contracts by requiring notice periods on clients. Bodhi is currently at risk of being struck off the UK Companies Register for filing its accounts late.
Purnell sent an email to agents last week saying he was “heartbroken” by the allegations, which he claimed were “false” and created by someone who had previously tried to “jeopardize my character.” He did not identify this person in the email, which was co-signed by his business partner, Ricky Curtis.