Patrick Duncan, who runs the Belfast agency Dealers, supplied a number of his actors to Lord Richard Attenborough's movie — but some of them had to fight for more then 18 months to get their cash off the "shambolic" businessman.

Among these was Martin McCann, who made a name for himself alongside starlet Mischa Barton and A-listers Pete Postelwaite, Shirley Maclaine and Brenda Fricker in the silver screen epic.

Duncan is an actor himself and has appeared in range of TV shows including Bergerac, Brookside and Blackadder II as well as several films and commercials.

He also runs Dealers In Death, a company that puts on murder mystery events — including Sherlock Holmes and Cluedo dramas — for corporate clients, including the NIO on six occasions, according to Duncan's website.

But now a Stormont department is eeking to kill off Duncan's career as an agent. The Department of Employment and Learning wants Duncan's Dealers talent agency SHUT DOWN and to have him BANNED from working with actors for a whopping 10 years.

In a recent application to the Industrial Tribunal — in a bid to have Duncan banned — the DEL told how, in spite of blunt warnings about his conduct, it had received fresh complaints from actors who struggled to get money out of their 'Mr 10 per cent'.

Duncan had been warned he faced a ban after withholding cash from at least seven actors, including thousands in fees owed to soap star Maggie Cronin for her role in the BBC drama Doctors.

Sunday Life understands the DEL is concerned about Duncan's slowness in paying his Closing The Ring stars — he is obliged to pass on monies within TEN DAYS, not 18 months — and complaints from a little-known actor who did not get paid for TV commercials he did.

In a ruling, the Industrial Tribunal's vice president Patricia Smyth allowed Duncan to keep operating, but only on a technicality.

And she alerted the DEL to the fact that it was entitled to make a fresh attempt to have Duncan banned for the maximum 10-year period.

Duncan had also been the subject of a string of complaints to Equity over unpaid fees and the actors' union had formally warned its members about his agency by placing Duncan on its 'Special Attention' list.

He was recently taken off the Equity warning list when he paid off the last of his Closing The Ring stars, but that move came AFTER the DEL got involved.

It took action when the Equity stars had to fight for 18 months to get their cash, even though a previous Industrial Tribunal had warned Duncan to pay up client fees within 10 days of him receiving them or face a ban. That warning, handed down in January 2006, came after seven actors made complaints to Equity and the DEL.

Among them was local Maggie Cronin, who played naughty practice manager Kate Maguire in Beeb soap Doctors.

She'd been unaware that Duncan had held on to thousands in fees due to her from the BBC. Even when the Beeb paid the money directly to the actress, it struggled to get its money back from Duncan.

Another actor, Stephen Wilson, sent more than 200 emails to Duncan in a bid to get his money, but only received a cheque "out of the blue" after the tribunal was made aware of his claim.

In a scathing ruling, tribunal vice president Mayo Price said: "The tribunal is satisfied that this business of an employment agency for actors was run in what could only be described as a shambolic way. Whilst Duncan was concerned to help young talent and promote the work of his actors, he chose when to pay people, and who he would pay."

She later added: "Much of the money was only paid presumably on the advice of Duncan's solicitor, very close to the date of hearing.

"The tribunal is satisfied that there was a serious situation of Duncan not separating his money from that of his clients.

"As his financial problems worsened, the cheques to actors bounced and he was not able to demonstrate to his accountant, or to this tribunal, how he managed his business accounts in a separate fashion from his personal account.

"Duncan's accountant, who was trying to help him, was left in the same position as many of Duncan's clients, in that Duncan would not reply or give him information. This is not the way that an employment agency or business should be run."

Public school and Oxford-educated Duncan is a colourful character who boasts on his Bebo website that he is friends with "talented people — actors, musicians, sports people".

His Bebo friends include the singer Samantha Mumba and he tells his Bebo readers: "I enjoy my job helping people find work in the entertainment industry."

On Duncan's online CV aimed at film, TV and theatre companies, the actor, writer, director, casting agent and producer states that he is NOT willing to to do unpaid work.