Status of a leading player having a lot to do (7)
I believe the answer is:
stardom
'status' is the definition.
(I know that stardom is a type of high status)
'a leading player having a lot to do' is the wordplay.
'a leading player' becomes 'star' (I've seen this before).
'having' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a lot' becomes 'm'.
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'm' put after 'do' is 'dom'.
'star'+'dom' is 'STARDOM'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for stardom that I've seen before include "(The prestige of) celebrity" , "Great celebrity" , "Celebrity status" , "Stage or screen fame" , "Great fame" .)