Hot Shots 2023: Milly Bell

Milly Bell started her career seeking out undiscovered talent from the digital space for the agency Gleam Futures, helping the explosion of YouTube and digital-fi rst talent to build diverse commercial careers since before the term ‘influencer’ was as widely recognised as it is today.

She supported the likes of Zoella, Joe Sugg, Caspar Lee and Victoria Magrath through managing live events, building talent-owned businesses, and securing licensing deals and face-of brand campaigns with companies including Rimmel, Tinder and L’Oreal.

She also supported the sale of books, developed podcasts, booked comedy names onto Sky One shows and landed one client their own CBBC show.

Now 26, Bell is a senior agent at InterTalent, moving seamlessly into representing TV talent.

“Milly arrived as a top digital agent,” says InterTalent managing director Alex Segal. “She brought with her much-needed expertise, and spent the year meeting everyone in TV. She has since merged the two to become fantastic in both.” He adds: “Milly is loved by everyone and represents versatile talent.”

Household names

At InterTalent, Bell has used her eye for talent and persistence to sign a roster that includes household names such as food writer and podcaster Grace Dent, TV GP Dr Amir Khan and Love Island winner Amber Gill.

She has also stayed true to her digital roots, signing up-and-coming comedians such as TikTok sensation Hayley Morris, whose book Me Vs Brain was a Sunday Times bestseller and Penguin Random House’s most pre-ordered non-fiction book for 2023.

She has directly sold a number of TV commissions, including World’s Most Expensive All-You-Can-Eat Bu et (Honey Bee), featuring Grace Dent for Channel 5, and Nicola Adams: Me And IVF (Rare TV/The Gold Studios) for ITV Be.

Bell has been fundamental to the growth of InterTalent’s business, especially in terms of its digital o ering and new generation broadcast talent, contributing to InterTalent being named Best Agency for New Talent at the 2022 Edinburgh TV Festival New Voice Awards.

She has also demonstrated a deep commitment to bringing new blood into the talent management industry, producing the InterTalent Rising event, which sought to provide opportunities to young up-and-comers. She has also mentored a number of junior agents from a range of backgrounds, and was asked by BBC Studios to host a duty-of-care masterclass for the cast of BBC3 dating format I Like The Way U Move.

InterTalent chair Jonathan Shalit describes Bell as “one of the most impressive agents I’ve met”, adding that when he fi rst encountered her at age 24, she “told me where InterTalent was falling behind, and what needed changing to remain ahead of the curve”. He credits these changes with helping InterTalent secure its 2022 Edinburgh win.