Rakie Olufunmilayo Ayola Listenⓘ (born May 1968) is a Welsh actress known for her work in theatre and television and radio.
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.
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.
In 2017, Ayola took over the role of Hermione Granger in the West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
[6] Her first acting role was for the Welsh Eisteddfod when still at primary school, playing a lady-in-waiting at the court of King Arthur.
[10] She worked as a chambermaid whilst attending drama school, and, six weeks prior to graduation, was offered a job with the 'Made in Wales' theatre company which enabled her to obtain her union card.
"[11] She has also appeared in modern performances, assuming the title role of Dido, Queen of Carthage at the Globe Theatre in London in 2003, which she described as "a dream of a part".
[7] Variety's David Rooney said of her performance: "In the film's most naturalistic turn, Ayola is a constant pleasure to watch.
Ayola credits her chemistry with co-star Akim Mogaji, who played her on-screen husband Luke Roberts, for winning her her audition.
[15] In 1996, Ayola appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.
In 2001, she became a presenter of the BBC Wales arts programme Double Yellow, alongside poet Owen Sheers and performance artist Mark Rees.
[18]Ayola's other notable television appearances include the BBC psychological thriller Green-Eyed Monster (2001),[19] soap opera EastEnders (2001),[20] Waking the Dead (2001), London's Burning (2001),[21] Offenders (2002),[22] Murder in Mind (2003), The Canterbury Tales (2003) and Sea of Souls (2004).
She joined the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre, London from 24 May 2017, playing the role of Hermione Granger.
[27] From 7 February 2006 to 9 December 2008, Ayola starred in BBC medical drama Holby City as nurse Kyla Tyson.
[29] After a series of three meetings, a year after the birth of her first child, she agreed to assume the role of Kyla, despite being "nervous about signing such a long contract",[21] stating: "I've been someone who's loved the uncertainty of acting.
[32] She said of the show: In October 2008, Ayola announced that she would be departing from Holby City in order to have a second child, stating: "I've had a great time and I'll miss it.
[...] The one time I was asked to play a Welsh character on screen was in Tiger Bay for BBC Wales, but I know if that series had been called Radyr Park or Cyncoed Close I wouldn't have been in it".
[35] The project, however, was largely unsuccessful, with Ayola stating: "it just made me decide that if there's anything I don't want to do, it's produce films, because I'm rubbish at it.
[43] In 2005, WalesOnline voted Ayola the 29th sexiest woman in Wales, saying of her: "One of our favourite thesps, she's black, beautiful and the term "yummy mummy" should have been made for her.
[46] Rakie is a Trustee of ACT, the Actors' Children's Trust, and an Ambassador of PIPA, Parents in Performing Arts.
[10] She spends her free time "watching television, the theatre, cinema, concerts, indoor wall climbing [and] keeping fit [with] yoga [and] aerobics".
[48] She has expressed a desire to visit Brazil and Argentina, and has "a romantic notion of travelling around Europe in a camper van".