Emily Glenister is a British former actress who now works as a literary agent and director. She is also widely known as the daughter of British actress Amanda Redman and actor Robert Glenister. Emily grew up in a family with deep roots in British television and theatre.

She first followed her parents into acting. She trained at the respected Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and later appeared in television and theatre productions. Her credits include At Home with the Braithwaites, New Tricks, Tracy Beaker Returns, and the National Theatre production of Antigone.

But acting did not become her lifelong career. Emily later moved behind the scenes and found a new path in the publishing world. Today, she is a Director and Literary Agent at DHH Literary Agency, where she represents authors and helps shape books before publication.

Quick Bio

Who Is Emily Glenister?

Emily Glenister comes from one of Britain’s well-known acting families. Her mother, Amanda Redman, has had a long career in British television. She is especially known for playing Sandra Pullman in New Tricks and Alison Braithwaite in At Home with the Braithwaites.

Emily’s father, Robert Glenister, is also an established actor. He became especially well known for playing Ash Morgan in the BBC drama Hustle. Robert and Amanda married in 1984. Emily was their only child together before the couple divorced in 1992.

Acting also runs through the wider Glenister family. Robert’s brother is actor Philip Glenister, known for playing Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Emily’s grandfather John Glenister worked as a television director. This meant that film, theatre, and television were familiar parts of her life from an early age.

Emily Glenister’s Childhood and Acting Family

Growing up with two professional actors gave Emily a close view of the entertainment business. She did not only see the glamorous side. She also saw auditions, long hours, rejection, and the uncertainty that often comes with acting.

Amanda Redman later explained that Emily understood the industry very well because so many members of the family worked in it. Redman said family meetings often involved conversations about their work. She also supported her daughter’s choice to become an actress while making it clear that the decision had to belong to Emily.

Emily also attended The Artists Theatre School, which was founded by her mother. Public biographies state that she went there on Saturdays when she was young. She was also a member of the National Youth Theatre, giving her more experience before professional drama training.

The stage therefore felt like a natural first career. Emily has said that, as a child, she enjoyed performing and having an audience. In a 2026 interview, she explained that joining the family profession seemed like the expected path when she was young.

Education at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

Emily later applied to drama schools and earned a place at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her route into the school was not simple.

In her 2026 interview, she said she had faced several rejections during the drama school audition process. Bristol Old Vic first placed her on a waiting list. A place then became free, and Emily was offered the opportunity. She moved to Bristol at short notice to begin her training.

She has spoken openly about both the good and difficult parts of drama school. The experience gave her close friends and professional skills. Yet some parts of the training affected her confidence. She later said the course still proved valuable, even though she eventually chose to leave acting.

Emily completed her training and graduated in 2010. DHH Literary Agency’s official biography also confirms her Bristol Old Vic training and graduation year.

Emily Glenister’s Acting Career

Emily had already appeared on television before completing drama school. Her credits include appearances in At Home with the Braithwaites, the ITV drama in which her mother played the lead role of Alison Braithwaite.

Emily appeared as Emily Braithwaite in two episodes between 2000 and 2001. Years later, she worked with Amanda Redman again in New Tricks, appearing as Stephanie Parr in a 2011 episode.

Another television credit came in Tracy Beaker Returns. Emily played Melanie in an episode broadcast in 2012. These roles gave her experience in television, but theatre would lead to one of the biggest decisions of her career.

In 2012, Emily joined the ensemble of the National Theatre’s production of Antigone. The cast included Jodie Whittaker, Christopher Eccleston, Annabel Scholey, Alfred Enoch, and Luke Newberry. National Theatre records also list Emily as an understudy for Antigone.

Why Did Emily Glenister Leave Acting?

For many actors, appearing at the National Theatre would be a major career goal. For Emily, it became the moment that helped her understand that acting was no longer right for her.

She later recalled sitting in her dressing room during Antigone and realising that she was unhappy. She knew many actors would have wanted the same opportunity. That made her question whether continuing in the profession made sense for her.

Emily had planned to give acting about three years after leaving drama school. Once she decided she did not want to continue, she contacted her agent and said she planned to leave after the contract ended.

The decision did not mean she wanted to leave the creative industries at once. Acting was the world she knew best. She therefore moved into agency work, where her experience as a performer proved useful.

Having been an actress herself helped Emily understand what performers felt when dealing with auditions, casting decisions, and rejection. She worked as an agency assistant and later became a theatrical agent.

From Acting to the Publishing Industry

Emily’s next major career change took her from theatre and television into books and publishing.

The official DHH biography states that, after graduating, she worked as a theatrical agent and assistant in offices representing major names including Charlotte Rampling, Sir Roger Moore, Liv Ullmann, and Max von Sydow.

Over time, however, Emily wanted to move away from the acting industry. Books had always been important to her. She said reading had long been a form of escape, which made publishing an attractive next step.

In 2016, an opportunity appeared to work with David Headley, the managing director of Goldsboro Books and DHH Literary Agency. Emily applied for the assistant position and got the job.

Working alongside Headley gave her experience in several parts of the book business. She learned about authors, manuscripts, publishers, sales, and the retail side of books through the agency’s connection with Goldsboro Books.

Emily Glenister at DHH Literary Agency

The move into publishing became the defining stage of her professional life.

Emily spent around four years assisting David Headley across the agency. During the COVID era in 2020, she decided it was time to build her own client list. With support from Headley and her colleagues, she became an Agent in 2020.

Her role continued to grow. In 2022, Emily became a Director of DHH Literary Agency. She now works as both a director and literary agent.

Her official DHH profile lists authors including Heather Darwent, Suzie Edge, and Becca Day among notable names on her client list. The agency also lists many other writers represented by her.

Her work includes reading submissions, editing manuscripts, speaking with authors, preparing pitches, and working with publishers. Emily has said she may complete two or three editing rounds on a manuscript before sending it to publishers.

This career may be very different from acting, but storytelling remains at its centre.

What Books Does Emily Glenister Represent?

Emily has developed clear interests as a literary agent. Her current official profile shows a strong interest in psychological suspense, gothic fiction, horror, historical fiction, romantic comedy, book club fiction, speculative stories, and character-led commercial novels.

She has said that strong characters and emotional depth matter to her. She also looks for books with a clear commercial idea. Dark family secrets, complex relationships, ambition, revenge, obsession, and difficult choices are among the themes that interest her.

Her background as an actress may also give her a different way of looking at character and story. She spent years studying performance and working with scripts before moving into books.

Rather than remaining known only as Amanda Redman’s daughter, Emily has built a separate professional identity in publishing. Her current work places her behind the stories instead of performing them.

Emily Glenister and Amanda Redman’s Relationship

Amanda Redman has spoken publicly about Emily several times over the years. Her comments show that she wanted her daughter to make her own career choices.

When Emily was acting, Amanda said she knew it was a difficult profession but would support the choice if it made her daughter happy. She also pointed out that Emily had grown up around enough actors to understand the problems that could come with the job.

Mother and daughter have also shared the screen. Emily appeared in At Home with the Braithwaites and later in New Tricks, two of Amanda Redman’s best-known television series.

Their careers eventually went in different directions. Amanda remained a successful actress, while Emily left performing and developed a career in publishing.

That change has allowed Emily to create a professional identity that is connected to storytelling but does not depend on her famous parents.

Emily Glenister’s Father Robert Glenister and Famous Family

Emily’s father, Robert Glenister, has worked in British film, television, theatre, and radio for decades.

He is best known to many viewers as Ash Morgan in Hustle. He has also appeared in productions such as Spooks. Robert’s father, John Glenister, worked as a television director, adding another generation to the family’s links with screen drama.

Robert’s younger brother Philip Glenister is another successful actor. His best-known role is DCI Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

Emily therefore grew up surrounded by people who understood acting from many sides. Yet her own career shows that she was willing to leave the expected path and choose work that suited her better.

Emily Glenister’s Husband and Daughter

Emily keeps much of her private life outside the public eye. However, she confirmed some family details herself in a February 2026 interview.

She referred to her husband and spoke several times about their young daughter, who was attending nursery at the time. She explained that she and her husband share nursery runs, childcare, and other family duties around their work.

She also described weekends spent with her husband and daughter, including family walks with their dog. These details came directly from Emily rather than from celebrity gossip sources.

The names of her husband and daughter were not given in that interview. For that reason, it is better not to repeat names or personal details claimed by unsupported websites.

Emily Glenister’s Life Today

Today, Emily Glenister appears to have found the career that suits her. She is no longer primarily working as an actress. Her main professional role is in publishing.

As of 2026, the official DHH website lists her as a Director and Literary Agent and shows that she continues to accept selected author submissions.

Her career has moved through several stages. She grew up in an acting family, trained at a leading drama school, worked on television and at the National Theatre, became a theatrical agent, and then entered publishing.

That path makes her story more than a simple celebrity family profile. Being Amanda Redman’s daughter may explain why many people first recognise her name. Yet her publishing work now forms the strongest part of her own professional identity.

Final Thoughts

Emily Glenister started life surrounded by actors, directors, television sets, and theatre. With Amanda Redman and Robert Glenister as her parents, an acting career seemed like a natural choice.

She gave that career a serious try. She trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and worked in television and at the National Theatre. But she was also willing to admit when acting no longer made her happy.

That decision led her first into talent representation and then into publishing. She joined DHH Literary Agency, became an agent in 2020, and became a director in 2022.

Her story shows a clear change from performing other people’s stories to helping writers bring new stories into the world.

FAQs

Who is Emily Glenister?

Emily Glenister is a British literary agent, director, and former actress. She is the daughter of actors Amanda Redman and Robert Glenister. She currently works as a Director and Literary Agent at DHH Literary Agency.

How old is Amanda Redman’s daughter Emily Glenister?

Public biographical records list Emily Glenister’s birth date as 1 July 1987. This makes her 39 years old in August 2026.

Is Emily Glenister an actress?

Emily Glenister previously worked as an actress. Her credits include At Home with the Braithwaites, New Tricks, Tracy Beaker Returns, and Antigone at the National Theatre. She later left acting and now works mainly in publishing.

Who is Emily Glenister’s father?

Her father is British actor Robert Glenister, best known for his role as Ash Morgan in Hustle. Her mother is actress Amanda Redman.

What does Emily Glenister do now?

She works at DHH Literary Agency as a Director and Literary Agent. She became an agent in 2020 and was made a director in 2022. Her work includes representing authors, editing manuscripts, and working with publishers.