Rakie Ayola
Born: 1968-05-11 in Cardiff, Wales, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Rakie Olufunmilayo Ayola is a Welsh actress. She was born in Cardiff in May 1968, to a Sierra Leonean mother and a Nigerian father, and was raised by her mother's cousin and his wife in the Ely district of the city. She studied at Glan Ely High School, and was a member of the Orbit Youth Theatre, South Glamorgan Youth Theatre, South Glamorgan Youth Choir and the National Youth Theatre of Wales. She went on to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, studying for a three-year acting diploma. In 2023 Rakie Ayola was the 18th recipient of the prestigious BAFTA Cymru Siân Phillips Award. At the same ceremony she also won the Bafta Cymru Best Actress Award for her performance in BBC1 series The Pact Season 2 on which she was an Executive Producer. In 2021 Rakie Ayola won BAFTA Best Supporting Actress for BBC1 film Anthony by Jimmy McGovern. Ayola has appeared in television shows including Kaos, The Pact Season 1, Grace, Shetland, No Offence, Midsomer Murders, Black Mirror, Noughts + Crosses, Doctor Who, Silent Witness and EastEnders, a number of Shakespearean theatrical performances and feature films such as Been So Long, Now Is Good, Great Moments in Aviation, The i Inside, Dredd, and Sahara. She appeared as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City from its eighth to eleventh series.
Filmography
2025
- Bad Apples as Sylvia
2024
- KAOS as Persephone
- Saving Lives in Cardiff as Self - Narrator
2021
- Grace as ACC Alison Vosper
- The Pact as DS Holland
- Mothers, Missiles and the American President as Narrator
2020
- Anthony as Gee Walker
- Alex Rider as Jo Byrne
2019
- Brexit: The Uncivil War as Camilla
2018
- Twelfth Night ... (Executive Producer)
- Been So Long as Martina
2015
- Code of a Killer as Helena Adarkwa
2014
- Under Milk Wood as Voice
2013
- Shetland as Olivia Lennox
2012
- Dredd as Chief Judge
- Now Is Good as Phillippa
2011
- Black Mirror as Shelly
- Vera as Amber Haleford
2009
- My Almost Famous Family as Shalondra
2005
- Doctor Who as Hostess
- Sahara as Mrs. Nwokolo
2004
- The I Inside as Nurse Clayton
- Sea of Souls as Yemi
2003
- Canterbury Tales as Nicky Constable
2002
- Being April as Taneshia
2001
- Waking the Dead as Pauline
- Murder in Mind as Cally
1999
- Holby City as Kyla Tyson
- The Secret Laughter of Women as Talking Drum
1998
- Maisie Raine as D.C. Helen Tomlin
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Alice Winning
1994
- Ready, Steady, Cook as Self - Guest
- Scarlett as Pansy
- Great Moments in Aviation as Gabriel Angel
1993
1991
- Soldier Soldier as Bernie Roberts
1979
- Question Time as Self - Panellist