The secrets of casting the next breakout child star – from Adolescence to the new Harry Potter series

Amélie Pease (who plays Lisa, Jamie’s sister), Fatima Bojang (Jade) and Austin Haynes (Fredo) also all came through the drama school – as did Austin’s brother Rocco, who is seen in the opening of 28 Years Later, and Rory Wilmot, who has been cast as Neville Longbottom in the new Harry Potter series in an eight-year deal.

Here Burrows tells RT how she helps to nurture young talent.

CHANGING CAREER In 2013, I was working as a barrister in county courts and magistrates’ courts across the North working on low-level cases, but I was doing a lot of public speaking in courtrooms. I was looking to give back, so I set up a public speaking school for kids one night a week and created a website for parents to track their children’s progress. CBeebies came across it and asked me to do a bit of vocal coaching on a series and I agreed as long as I could get some of the kids in as extras. Then they just kept calling me back asking for more children. I dropped the legal stuff and the agency really took off in 2015.

SUPPORTING YOUNG PERFORMERS We've just opened up to adults, but our focus is on children and young performers up to the age of 25. We represent kids from all over the country, but a lot of them are generally from disadvantaged or diverse backgrounds. Yesterday, one of my actors couldn't afford to get to a recall, so we booked their train tickets and said, “Pay us back when you're rich and famous.” Our drama classes are about £8 a week, and we offer loads of scholarships. We also go to schools and run free workshops to teach people about what it's like to be an actor.

WORKING WITH CASTING DIRECTORS We’ve got all the regulars on Waterloo Road and Emmerdale and a lot of people come to us for the gritty Northern dramas. A casting director sends us a detailed brief of all the different characters they’re looking for, including age range, maybe a particular accent or specific physical attributes if the parents have already been cast. We then suggest any actors we think might be suitable and send off their CVs, and the casting director tells us who they would like to audition.

HELPING WITH SELF-TAPES They send us a sample script, which could be two or three scenes to memorise, and then the child self-tapes at home. They can send those tapes to us on WhatsApp and we can give them voice note feedback, which is something you wouldn't get at many agencies. It's an extra support mechanism to make sure they've understood everything and don't miss anything. Sometimes it's something practical, like their lighting is terrible, or if its performance-related, they might drop out of an accent.

RECEIVING A CALL BACK When we feel like we've got a perfect tape, we will send it off to the casting director. They will shortlist those tapes and show them to the directors and producers. They decide who will come in for a recall – either on Zoom or in person. It's a chance to go through the scenes, and for the director to give a bit of direction to see how the actor takes that direction. After that recall, sometimes we get an offer straight away. Other times, it might be a chemistry read or a second recall.

PROVIDING HONEST FEEDBACK We've got what we call small books, so we know each of our clients individually. We have weekly 10-minute drop-in sessions where we catch up with all of our clients. We're always there for feedback, and we're a very honest agency, so if we think the child needs to work on certain skills to move to the next level, we will always tell the parents, who will hopefully support them with it.

SPOTTING A STAR A child has to have resilience, commitment and determination, because you get a lot of knockbacks. They also need a level of maturity, a good memory for lines and emotional intelligence. We celebrate their successes. I often even go to school plays! Then a week later I could be flying to LA to watch a movie premiere.

DEALING WITH THE PARENTS A lot of agents say they don't want to deal with kids because of the annoying parents, but we don't have that issue here. Some of the kids have actor parents, but for those who aren’t actors, we help them navigate things. The industry is so alien to people who aren't in it. Some jobs are life-changing, like this new Harry Potter series – financially, but also in the sense that the child might have to move away from home and their siblings for years. One parent often has to give up a job for a substantial amount of time.

NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACTS In certain deals, we organise extra flights so family members can go out and visit. We might organise Zooms with the school so the child can catch up with their friends or teachers. When you’re in a big global franchise, you lose a bit of your normal life, so we try to keep our children grounded and make sure they’re enjoying it, because if they’re not, they shouldn’t be doing it.

Adolescence is available to watch on Netflix – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Add Adolescence to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.