Latest news

July 10

Welcome to Thebes

Rakie is currently starring as Pargeia in Welcome to Thebes at the National Theatre.

Faced with an impoverished, war-ravaged country the new president of Thebes surrounds herself with a Cabinet of sensible women and promises peace. But without the aid of vastly wealthy Athens and its swaggering leader, she doesn’t stand a chance.

Set in the modern day, but inspired by ancient myth, Moira Buffini’s new play explores head-on the cost of democracy in the aftermath of war.

The play runs until 12 September. Tickets are available online or from the National Theatre box office - tel: 020 7452 3000.

Dalston Songs

Earlier this year, Rakie appeared in the Helen Chadwick production Dalston Songs at the Royal Opera House.

A powerful, funny and touching piece of song theatre, Dalston Songs is a unique blend of music and choreography about memories of home and what ‘home’ means. Performance creator and self-taught composer Helen Chadwick was inspired by the stories and memories of people in her local community in Dalston, East London, where many different cultures co-exist. Stories emerged through interviews with her neighbours and Dalston residents. For some ‘home’ meant life in a new country, escape from a war zone or arrival from a destroyed homeland, for others the tales were more domestic. These stories became the basis for lyrics used alongside powerful texts by Serbian, Argentinean, Palestinian, and Turkish poets.

Press play below to view a sample of the performance.

Doctor Who

On 2 May, Rakie appeared at the Doctor Who Vortex II convention in Belfast, alongside Kai Owen (Rhys Williams, Torchwood) and Lachlan Nieboer (Gray, Torchwood)

Flickr user fluterirl has several photos from the event here.

Site updates

Newly added to the gallery are some old publicity stills, from Tiger Bay and Great Moments in Aviation.

January 10

Rakie's recent appearance on Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker is now available online. Press play below to view.

December 09

Rakie has contributed to a new book in aid of the charity Elizabeth Finn Care. Called Tea & Teardrops: How We Survived The Bad Times, the Western Mail have an extract here, and the book is available to purchase from Amazon for £13.99.

Rakie is also set to appear on Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker, to be broadcast on BBC One Wales (971 Sky Digital and 862 Virgin Media) on 22 December at 9pm, and 29 December at 22.50pm.

November 09

Rakie has given a couple of new interviews recently, one here with the South Wales Echo, and another here for BBC South East Wales. She also placed 17th in the Western Mail's list of the 50 sexiest women in Wales.

September 09

My Almost Famous Family

My Almost Famous Family is a brand new all-singing, all-dancing comedy series set to strike a chord on CBBC this September. Singing, dancing and doing the chores – it's all in a day's work for the Swann family, stars of the new 11-part high-energy, musical comedy series.

By day the Swanns perform as TV pop group We're In Perfect Harmony; by night they're a big, blended and sometimes harmonious step-family. When English musician Gary Swann (Andrew Clover) stepped on stage with African-American soul singer Shalondra (Rakie Ayola) in Las Vegas it was love at first verse.

Now their families have come together, moved back to the UK and landed the best gig in TV – house band on everyone's favourite tea-time chat-show, The Totally Annabelle Show, hosted by the nation's top teen presenter.

Catch Rakie as Shalondra Swann in My Almost Famous Family on Saturdays at 10am on BBC Two. The full press release on the new series is here, plus an interview with Rakie about the show here.

Site updates

In the clips section here, you can now listen to Rakie's performance as Naomi D'Oliveira in the radio play Dolly.

There are also several new images in the gallery, including a scan from OK! magazine of Rakie and the Holby City cast at co-star Nadine Lewington's wedding, plus a 2002 press kit photo from Being April.

March 09

Site updates

Rakie's December appearance on Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds is available to view now in the clips section, while the images below have been added to the gallery. On the left, Rakie features on the aforementioned show alongside Casualty star Charles Dale. In the centre, Rakie appears looking resplendent at the recent Screen Nation Awards, while on the right is an older image, from the 2007 BAFTA Cymru awards. Click each image to enlarge.

February 09

I am absolutely delighted to announce the wonderful news that on January 5th, Rakie gave birth to a new baby daughter, Shani. Warmest congratualtions go out to the proud new parents and big sister!

January 09

Site updates

There are several new additions to the clips section - videos from the 1993 film Great Moments in Aviation, the 1998 detective drama Maisie Raine and a recent Sunday Telegraph Poetry for Performance competition, as well as The Devil's Music radio play. There is also a new Western Mail article in which a variety of Welsh stars including Rakie discuss their New Year resolutions.

December 08

Exit Interview

The BBC have published a new interview with Rakie, discussing her time on Holby and what the future holds for her. It can be found in the Interviews section here.

November 2008

Bargain Hunt Famous Finds

Rakie is set to appear in episode eight of the new series Bargain Hunt Famous Finds, competing against Casualty's Charles Dale.

Two television stars swap scrubs for Bargain Hunt fleeces. Rakie Ayola plays nurse Kyla Tyson in Holby City while Charles Dale plays porter Big Mac in Casualty. Rakie is joined on her quest for bargains at the Ardingly Antiques Fair in West Sussex by her father-in-law, actor Jack Smethurst, while Charlie is helped by his wife Sara, a make-up artist. What will happen when they get to the auction in Wandsworth? Presented by Tim Wonnacott.

The episode airs on BBC 2 on 10 December, at 5.15pm.

The Devil's Music

BBC Radio 7 are repeating 'The Devil's Music' this week - an Alan Plater play narrated by Rakie in 2001. Part 1, 'Roll Jordan Roll', broadcasts at 9.15pm on 26 November. Part 2, 'The Great Pork Pie Mystery', broadcasts at the same time on 27 November, and the third installment, 'Beacons', goes out at the same time on 28 November. You can listen live online via the BBC iPlayer Radio Console, or catch up on iPlayer where the installments will be available for a week after broadcast.

Click here to listen to 'Roll Jordan Roll' now.

Interview & exit news

The Western Mail have published a new interview with Rakie, discussing her time on Holby City and forthcoming new arrival. It's available here in the Interviews section to read now.

The BBC have also released details of Rakie's last Holby City episode, so if you don't want to be spoiled, look away now!

Kyla spends her last day at Holby City, and is set to head to Rotterdam with son Max – until, that is, Abra turns up unexpectedly. Abra declares his love for Kyla and asks her to return to Ghana. Knowing that Max isn't keen on her joining him in Holland, she decides to follow her heart and leave with Abra for Africa.

The episode airs on BBC One at 8pm on 9 December, so tissues at the ready!

Award nomination

In a much-deserved nomination, Rakie is in the running for this year's 'Female Performance in TV' award at the 2008 Screen Nation awards. Winners will be announced on Sunday 7 December. Fingers crossed!

October 08

Updates

Four 'new' interviews and features have been added to the Interviews section - a Digital Spy piece on Rakie's pregnancy and departure from Holby City, a South Wales Echo feature including Rakie's thoughts on the relocation of Holby City's sister show Casualty to Cardiff, a 2003 Western Mail article including Rakie's comments on the return of Dirty Den to EastEnders, and a section from 1993 book Soldier, Solder, featuring an interview with Rakie, and insight on her army wife character Bernie Roberts.

Exciting news!

Congratulations are in order, following Rakie's announcement she is expecting her second child. She will be stepping down from her role in Holby City, and said of her departure:

"It's strange but sad at the same time. I've had a great time and I'll miss it. I made the decision purely because I was pregnant, but I wasn't really ready to put down the character of Kyla. I'm very sorry to have to let her go. I'm having a baby and have become involved in a lot of charity work lately, so that's keeping me busy - but it's difficult to look for work when you're pregnant!"

Here's wishing Rakie all the best for the future!

September 08

Site Updates

This month sees a number of updates to the contents of the site.

Interviews: Over a dozen 'new' interviews added, dating as far back as 1997.

Filmography: Expanded to include a vast number of theatrical roles, as well as radio plays and readings.

Clips: Added to the array already present, Rakie's 2001 London's Burning appearance.

Gallery: Redesigned and expanded, with images dating from the early 90s to present day.

Dignity!Period

Rakie has recently leant her support to ACTSA's Dignity!Period campaign, aiming to provide Zimbabwean women with essential sanitary protection. ACTSA explain:

A pack of sanitary towels in Zimbabwe can cost more than double the average monthly wage. As a result, many women are forced to use newspapers and dirty rags, a practice which leads to infections, for which there is little available medication. Worse still, these infections are often misconstrued as STIs, leading to social embarrassment and domestic violence.

Rakie has said of the campaign:

A few times in my life I've had to line my pants with toilet paper because I didn't have a spare sanitary towel or tampon to hand, so I understand just a fraction of the embarrassment and indignity that the women of Zimbabwe are experiencing. What I hope to never know is the resulting disease and abuse that can come from their having no access to affordable sanitary products. These products are necessities not luxuries. This is why I whole heartedly support the Dignity! Period Campaign.

To learn more about the campaign, or to make a donation, visit the Dignity!Period homepage here.

June 08

Doctor Who

Clips from Rakie's Doctor Who appearance as the Hostess have been added to the 'Clips' section - along with the final five minutes of Doctor Who Confidential, featuring behind the scenes insight into her performance and character.

Ready Steady Cook

Rakie's recent appearance on Ready Steady Cook, against Holby City co-star Adrian Edmondson, can now be viewed in full in the 'Clips' section of the site.

Rakie's chosen charity was the Rhys Daniels Trust, who aim to provide 'Home from Home' accommodation for parents, supporting children's hospitals across the UK.

Doctor Who

Look out for Rakie as the Hostess, in Doctor Who episode 'Midnight', Saturday 14th June, BBC1, 7.10pm.

Western Mail Interview

A new interview for the Western Mail has been added to the 'Interviews' section, in which Rakie discusses her Ready Steady Cook appearance, growing up in Ely, and future projects.