Acting credits
39
Established
Large and steady acting portfolio.
Actor
Rakie Ayola
Acting
Career Snapshot
ExplainedThese indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.
TMDB popularity
0.5
Low visibility
TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.
Movies: 16Series: 24Crew credits: 2
TMDB ID: 195575
IMDb ID: nm0043931
Known for: Acting
Born: May 11, 1968
Age: 57
Place of birth: Cardiff, Wales, UK
Gender: Female
Adult content flag: No
Career span: 1979 - 2026
Years active: 48
Average TMDB rating: 6.99
Wikidata: Q16154488
Also known as
Rakie Olufunmilayo Ayola
Other jobs
Executive Producer (2)
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.
Movies
Movies
Movie credits linked with Rakie Ayola.
Apr 10
Bad Apples
as Sylvia
2026 Movie
Mothers, Missiles and the American President
as Narrator
2021 Movie
6.0
Anthony
as Gee Walker
2020 Movie
6.6
Brexit: The Uncivil War
as Camilla
2019 Movie
Twelfth Night
Executive Producer
2018 Movie
5.5
Been So Long
as Martina
2018 Movie
8.0
King Lear
as Goneril
2016 Movie
6.0
Under Milk Wood
as Voice
2014 Movie
7.3
Now Is Good
as Phillippa
2012 Movie
6.9
Dredd
as Chief Judge
2012 Movie
5.9
Sahara
as Mrs. Nwokolo
2005 Movie
5.9
The I Inside
as Nurse Clayton
2004 Movie
4.7
The Secret Laughter of Women
as Talking Drum
1999 Movie
4.6
Great Moments in Aviation
as Gabriel Angel
1994 Movie
Hope Is Lost
as Hope
Movie
Hedgehog
as Consultant
Movie
Series
Series
Series credits linked with Rakie Ayola.
7.2
KAOS
as Persephone • 5 eps
2024 Series
Saving Lives in Cardiff
as Self - Narrator • 12 eps
2024 Series
7.1
The Pact
as DS Holland • 6 eps
2021 Series
6.7
Grace
as ACC Alison Vosper • 6 eps
2021 Series
7.8
Alex Rider
as Jo Byrne • 7 eps
2020 Series
7.3
Flowers
as Morag • 1 eps
2016 Series
7.5
No Offence
as Nora Attah • 7 eps
2015 Series
7.3
Code of a Killer
as Helena Adarkwa • 2 eps
2015 Series
7.5
Shetland
as Olivia Lennox • 6 eps
2013 Series
8.3
Black Mirror
as Shelly • 1 eps
2011 Series
7.4
Vera
as Amber Haleford • 1 eps
2011 Series
7.6
Doctor Who
as Hostess • 1 eps
2005 Series
7.6
Sea of Souls
as Yemi • 2 eps
2004 Series
6.9
Canterbury Tales
as Nicky Constable • 1 eps
2003 Series
4.5
Being April
as Taneshia • 6 eps
2002 Series
7.2
Waking the Dead
as Pauline • 2 eps
2001 Series
8.4
Murder in Mind
as Cally • 1 eps
2001 Series
5.7
Holby City
as Kyla Tyson • 209 eps
1999 Series
Maisie Raine
as D.C. Helen Tomlin • 12 eps
1998 Series
7.5
Midsomer Murders
as Alice Winning • 1 eps
1997 Series
6.5
Scarlett
as Pansy • 3 eps
1994 Series
Ready, Steady, Cook
as Self - Guest • 1 eps
1994 Series
6.6
Soldier Soldier
as Bernie Roberts • 7 eps
1991 Series
5.5
Question Time
as Self - Panellist • 1 eps
1979 Series