Kyla Tyson is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Rakie Ayola.
Ayola had made a former minor appearance in the show several years prior to being cast as Kyla, and was later asked to return in a more permanent role.
After getting her life back on track, she departs from Holby, moving to Ghana with her partner Abra Durant (Adrian Edmondson).
[4] After a series of three meetings, two years after the birth of her first child, she agreed readily, despite being "nervous about signing such a long contract",[5] and having claimed just sixteen months previously that she had no desire to work in any long running serial - lambasting the quality of long-term recurring characters by stating: "I watch lots of soaps and love watching them but I often think how frustrating it must be when they make a character into such an idiot.
In the early years of her marriage to fellow actor Adam Smethurst the couple struggled financially, and with the added expense of the birth of their daughter, Ayola had been on the verge of giving up her acting career to begin a business franchise.
[9] Upon announcing the character's arrival, BBC Publicity described Kyla as a "survivor", someone who had "been through a lot in her life, firstly losing out on her dream career as a runner and then escaping a violent marriage."
"[10] From May 2007 onwards, the character was portrayed as increasingly emotionally unstable, having had "her whole world crash down around her",[11] following storylines including the death of her husband, and her son's request to be taken into foster care.
As this emotional instability continued and worsened with the abrupt ending of another relationship, the character was seen to develop full blown alcoholism.
She has a long way to go, but hopefully there's a light at the end of the tunnel..."[12] Discussing the storyline which saw Kyla's Alcoholics Anonymous companion Stuart McElroy (Conor Mullen) violently attack her colleague, Ward Sister Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley), Ayola has stated: "It makes her finally accept what Stuart was capable of.
"[13] This plot strand saw Kyla once more resort to drinking while at work, and decide to quit her job, only to be talked out of doing so by Nursing Consultant Mark Williams (Robert Powell).
"[13] Kyla was involved in three romantic relationships during her time in the show, the first of which was with physiotherapist Justin Fuller (Ben Richards).
[17] Several months after this interview, the character was romantically linked to newcomer and former guest star, general surgical consultant Abra Durant, played by Adrian Edmondson.
Asked in February 2008 whether the two would ever get back together, Ayola responded: "He treated Kyla like dirt, so I don't know if she'll forgive him, but I love working with Ade – he's a gorgeous man.
[19] She makes a good impression on consultant Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie), and is invited to take on the position of Acting Sister.
Kyla helps Abra cover up an illegal xenotransplantation he performed, and keeps quiet when she discovers he has been stealing and shipping returned anti-retroviral drugs to African hospitals in need.
Shaken by Abra's departure, when Max falls ill with food poisoning in the episode "Feast or Famine" Kyla realises he needs a male influence in his life and begrudgingly allows Harvey to move back in with them.
She attempts to hand in her notice, but Mark Williams persuades her to take a voluntary demotion to give her more time to deal with her problems.
In the episode "Send No Flowers", she is unexpectedly reunited with Max when he arrives at the hospital to visit his foster brother, a patient in Kyla's care.
Kyla briefly re-unites with Abra, when he reveals to her that he was subject to a machete attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, however he then leaves Holby once more to check himself into a psychiatric hospital.
Kyla initially refuses, but comes to realise that Max only wants to make her happy, and agrees to leave with Abra, who proposes marriage to her.
[20] The 2007 Screen Nation Awards saw Ayola receive "Honourable Mention", again for "Female Performance in TV", however she failed to make shortlist this time around.
The body's chief executive David Poley claimed that in failing to show the negative consequences of this action, the series was presenting a "highly irresponsible portrayal of excessive and rapid drinking".
"[34] The 17 November 2006 Children in Need charity telethon included a segment featuring the Holby City cast performing a version of Hung Up by Madonna.
Ayola, alongside Nadine Lewington (Maddy Young) and Phoebe Thomas (Maria Kendall) provided backing vocals for Sharon D Clarke (Lola Griffin), who performed a soul version of Aretha Franklin's signature song, Respect.