Acting 1987–88 Gayle was born in 1971 in the northwest part of London, in the
Harlesden area. She attended the
Barbara Speake Stage School in
Acton, west London, at a time when
Naomi Campbell,
Amma Asante and
Kwame Kwei-Armah were also attending. She first became publicly known when she appeared in the
children's BBC television programme
Grange Hill in
1988 and
1989 as Fiona Wilson, who was most notably part of a rap duo named Fresh 'n' Fly.
1990–1993 Gayle later appeared as an extra in TV drama ''
London's Burning'' and in the
Children's ITV television programme
Press Gang in 1990 as a background member of the news team, and that same year she won the role of
Hattie Tavernier in the BBC sopap opera
EastEnders. The introduction of the Tavernier family heralded the first time that an entire family had joined the programme all at once. Their introduction was also a well-intentioned attempt to portray a wider range of
black characters than had previously been achieved on the show. Gayle's character remained in the show for three years as
Ian Beale's PA and was featured in an array of storylines including being abandoned by her fiancé
Steve Elliot (
Mark Monero) and suffering a
miscarriage as a result. However, music was always Gayle's first passion, and in 1993 she left
EastEnders to pursue a singing career.
1999 onwards In 1999, Gayle played
Belle, the lead female, in Disney's
Beauty and the Beast, and she returned to television acting in 2003, guest-starring in the BBC television dramas
Doctors and
Holby City. She went on to play the role of Lara in the
Five soap opera
Family Affairs (2005), and played the lead female character, Yvonne, in the film
Joy Division, which was released in November 2006. The film tells the story of a German boy who is orphaned in
World War II and then groomed as a
KGB sleeper. Gayle starred in
Jason Barrett's British feature film
The Naked Poet as character Joanne; it was screened in London's Mayfair Hotel in December 2011. On stage, she played the role of Brenda in
Angie Le Mar's
The Brothers at the
Hackney Empire in April 2006, and she went on to play Jill in Pat Ashworth's ensemble stage production ''Mum's the Word
, which toured the UK from February to June 2007. She appeared in the CBBC series Wolfblood'' as Imara. In March 2018, she began playing the role of Alison in the musical
Son of a Preacher Man, which is based on the life of
Dusty Springfield. In November 2019, she began playing the role of Hermione Granger in the West End production of
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Presenting and reality television Gayle was a contestant on
ITV's reality-television show
Reborn in the USA, competing against artists such as
Elkie Brooks,
Sonia,
Gina G,
Leee John and
Tony Hadley. Gayle made it to the final and finished second behind Hadley. In 2004, Gayle presented the UMA Awards with ex-EastEnder
Gary Beadle, and in 2005, she appeared as a celebrity mentor on the
Five documentary
Pushy Parents. In March 2006, she took part in the fourth series of the
Channel 4 reality-television show
The Games, competing against various other celebrities in a series of sports events. Gayle came third in the competition and raised more than £5,000 for her chosen charity, the
Willow Foundation. She later became a guest panellist on
ITV's topical chatshow
Loose Women, in June 2007. In June 2009, it was announced that Gayle would be one of several celebrities competing in
Dancing on Wheels, BBC's spin-off show to the reality television competition
Strictly Come Dancing.
Dancing on Wheels paired able-bodied celebrities with those in wheelchairs. The winning pair represented the UK at the Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships in Israel in October 2009. Gayle and partner Harry Maule reached the semi-finals, but were beaten in the dance-off by Diana Morgan-Hill and Olympic swimmer Mark Foster. ==Musical career==