Catherine Willis, casting director, London Finding the actor nobody has met yet.
I'm Catherine Willis, an RTS Award-winning casting director for comedy, drama and the dark area in between. Since 2006 CW Casting has cast more than 100 productions for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix and Disney+.
CW Casting in numbers
- productions listed on this site, from 2007 to 2026
- 110
- shows that came back for another series
- 27
- of the actors in my casts are people I had never met before
- 40%
Take a look at my shows
Six productions, and how each one was cast.
BBC · 2025
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
A bestselling novel, a protective readership, and three leads found in a single day.
BBC · 2024
Alma's Not Normal
Two days of open auditions in Bolton for the pilot. BAFTA for Scripted Comedy in 2025.
Netflix · 2026
The Witness
A true story for Netflix, told with the family. My third project with director Alex Winckler.
Film · 2025
The Ballad of Wallis Island
A Sundance premiere, three BIFA wins and three BAFTA nominations.
What are you looking for?
Our casting process
From the first conversation about a script to the last signed contract, as lead casting director or alongside yours.
Talent discovery
Open auditions, street casting, and years of watching small theatres, fringe festivals and school plays.
For actors
Self-tape advice, open calls and how to reach us. We are looking for you as hard as you are looking for us.
RTS Casting Award for Somewhere Boy
Somewhere Boy won the Royal Television Society Craft and Design Award for Casting in 2023. The jury called it “a well woven cast”.
Four Casting Directors' Guild nominations sit alongside it, for Alma's Not Normal, Cheaters, Brian and Charles and Somewhere Boy. Productions and performers I have cast have won BAFTA, RTS and BIFA awards, among them Changing Ends and The Ballad of Wallis Island.
Questions about Catherine Willis and CW Casting
Who she is, what she has cast and how to reach her.
Who is Catherine Willis, the casting director?
Catherine Willis is an RTS Award-winning UK casting director and the founder of CW Casting in London. Since founding the company in 2006 she has cast more than 100 television, film and theatre productions, including Detectorists, Alma's Not Normal, Changing Ends, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Somewhere Boy and The Ballad of Wallis Island. She is represented by Independent Talent Group.
What has Catherine Willis cast?
CW Casting lists 110 productions cast by Catherine Willis between 2007 and 2026: 93 for television, 13 films and 4 stage productions. The best known are Detectorists, Alma's Not Normal, Here We Go, Changing Ends, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Somewhere Boy, Renegade Nell, The Full Monty, The Witness and the film The Ballad of Wallis Island.
What awards has Catherine Willis won?
Catherine Willis won the Royal Television Society Craft and Design Award for Casting in 2023, for Channel 4's Somewhere Boy. She has four Casting Directors' Guild Award nominations, for Alma's Not Normal (2022), Cheaters (2023), Brian and Charles (2023) and Somewhere Boy (2024). Productions she cast have won BAFTAs for Scripted Comedy: Detectorists in 2015 and Alma's Not Normal in 2025.
Which streamers and studios has Catherine Willis cast for?
Catherine Willis of CW Casting has cast productions made for or with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, PBS, Acorn TV and Focus Features. They include The Witness and The Duchess for Netflix, Renegade Nell and The Full Monty for Disney+, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder for the BBC and Netflix, and the Focus Features film The Ballad of Wallis Island.
How do I contact Catherine Willis or CW Casting?
Productions can email catherine@cwcasting.co.uk or go through her agent, Independent Talent Group in London. Actors and agents should read the getting in touch page first, then use contact@cwcasting.co.uk. Press and event organisers use the same address. Please send links, not attachments.