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Hello,
I need some help writing a covering letter to send to an agent as I don't know what to include. If I remember rightly I think that this topic has been discussed before, but I can't seem to find any of the old posts.
Thank you.

Hello there

It depends a bit on whether you have already spoken to the agent or whether you are writing speculatively.

It usually makes sense to speak to the agency before you write the letter: you can then find out who you should address it to. There's no point in sending a " Dear Sir or Madam" letter as this is highly likely to go straight into the bin. You can also find out whether there is anything they would particularly like you to send (such as information about a forthcoming show you are in). It also means you can start with "Following our telephone conversation..." and that your name will at least be familiar to someone in the office! These days it is generally considered correct to address someone by their first name and their last name (e.g. "Dear Tom Smith" rather than "Dear Tom" or "Dear Mr Smith"). This goes against everything I was taught, but seems to be the accepted form now! You would then finish the letter with "Your sincerely".

The letter just needs to cover:
Why you are writing to them (for representation)
What you are enclosing (CV and photo, maybe a showreel)
What is noteworthy about you (special skills, looks or interesting recent credits) - keep it brief
Whether you are inviting them to come and see you in something (give details and enclose a flyer)
Where they can find out more about you (eg. Spotlight or other profile if relevant)
How they can contact you

A covering letter does not need to be long. Try to consider it from the agent's point of view: you don't need to tell them what's on your CV but you might, for example, want to draw attention to the fact that you are of a particular ethnicity or of mixed race (especially if this is not obvious from your photo) or that you play tennis at county level or that you speak Polish or that you play the trombone to a high standard! Any "hook" you can hang yourself on will be useful. It also makes sense to try to find something out about the agency, especially if they specialise in a particular genre. Showing them that you are interested enough to have done some research is likely to go down well, though you don't need to dwell on it.

Make sure that you check your spelling and grammar and don't forget to sign it! Good luck!