Started originally by the wonderful Polly Huggins back in the 1980’s, RED’s origins began with diary service Call Polly. Polly started with a core of brilliant freelance crew. They were the very best, and she ran a rigorous application process of referencing which RED still operates to this day. RED maintains the gold standard set by Polly all those years ago.

When Polly retired, she passed the baton to the legendary Lynne Hurley, undoubtedly the finest PM of her generation and Call Polly became RED. Ever the PM, Lynne wanted a neat 3 letters that fitted nicely in the column on the call sheet where agents and diary services are listed. Over the next 12 years, under Lynne’s careful and watchful eye the diary grew and developed into something extraordinary that saw people desperate to join its ranks. RED became the most sought-after diary service in the UK.

When Lynne herself retired in 2016 she passed the reigns to Jess Archer. Jess had been on the books at RED as a busy and successful PM and Producer joining as an eager and aspiring PA many years before when Polly was still at the helm. Jess took over with commitment and dedication fully aware of the responsibility of what had been created and what needed to be done to modernise and update the diary as it entered a new era. The beloved handwritten diaries were replaced with a computerised system but the care and devotion remained. Knowing that she was the custodian of something with such deep and expanding roots within an industry that she had grown up in was something that she never took lightly.

In 2018 the highly respected and hugely successful Production Manager Helena Reis joined RED as a partner. Helena brought a level of insight and experience of logic and calm to the diary and implemented many improvements to existing systems and efficiency. Helena had also been a RED PM and like Jess, has real first-hand experience of productions and film sets so together they offer invaluable insider industry experience, advice and solutions to all crew and their wider clients

Jess & Helena care deeply about the welfare of their crew, about their success and more importantly their wellbeing. These principles and spirit are carried by all those who work alongside them at RED HQ. Under the nurturing and meticulous eye of Jess and Helena, RED continues to thrive. They work tirelessly through the RED Action for Allyship program to provide a way in for those underrepresented within the film industry encouraging, supporting and facilitating all sets to be as diverse and inclusive as they should be. RED operates today with the same founding principles established by Polly and Lynne before them and will do so for many generations of the RED family to come.