2000–2006: EastEnders and other work Ryan was chosen for the role of
Zoe Slater in the
BBC soap opera
EastEnders when she was 16, making her first appearance in the soap alongside the
Slater family in September 2000. Her character's key storylines in the soap included discovering
Kat Slater (
Jessie Wallace) was her mother and not her sister, as well as being involved in the cover up of the murder of
Den Watts (
Leslie Grantham). She left the series in June 2005, to further her career. Following her departure from
EastEnders, Ryan appeared in a run of ''Who's the Daddy?'' at the
King's Head Theatre. The play, by
Toby Young and Lloyd Evans, is based on the
David Blunkett paternity case. She had a small role in an episode of ''
Agatha Christie's Marple which screened in February 2006, and also appeared in a small independent film the same year, Cashback''.
2007–2008: Mansfield Park, Jekyll and Bionic Woman In early 2007, Ryan was seen as Maria in
Mansfield Park opposite
Billie Piper for ITV and also as Lila in the film
I Want Candy, co-starring
Carmen Electra and
Mackenzie Crook. In February 2007, it was announced that she had been cast as the lead in the drama
Bionic Woman, a remake of the
70s series. The show began airing in the United States on the broadcast network
NBC in September 2007. Ryan affected an American accent for the role of
Jaime Sommers, except in the episode "The Education of Jaime Sommers" in which her character goes undercover as an English transfer student at a university; for this episode, she spoke in an Oxfordshire accent instead of her natural London accent. She has had professional dance training and attributed it to helping her with the physically demanding stunts required for the show. She also learned
Krav Maga and
sign language for the part (the latter because, as originally conceived, Ryan's character was to have had a
hearing impaired sister, but this story element was abandoned). Ryan stated the show's cancellation came about because it kept changing direction, and stated it led to her being less ambitious about her career. "I'm more go-with-the-flow now", she said. On
Red Nose Day 2007, Ryan appeared in a
Mr. Bean sketch written and recorded for
Comic Relief. In May 2007, Ryan revealed she had auditioned the previous year for the role of
Vesper Lynd in
Casino Royale, eventually given to
Eva Green. In late 2007, she appeared in
Flick, a
Welsh independent film co-starring
Faye Dunaway and
Leslie Phillips. Prior to
Bionic Woman, she appeared in
Jekyll for the BBC, a modern-day version of
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde starring
James Nesbitt. It began its six-episode run on 16 June 2007, and was released on DVD in the United States on 18 September 2007, one week prior to her debut in
Bionic Woman.
2008–2011: Merlin, Doctor Who and Mister Eleven She has also appeared as the
sorceress Nimueh in the BBC drama series
Merlin, playing the role in several episodes of the show's first season. Ryan also filmed an ITV romantic drama,
Mister Eleven, in 2008. In January 2009, the BBC announced that Ryan had been cast as Lady Christina de Souza in the
Doctor Who special episode "
Planet of the Dead", which was broadcast on 11 April 2009. She had been rumoured for a part beforehand, and is open to reprising the role in future, although "At the moment, when it comes to acting, I'm a bit of a commitment-phobe." Ryan and ''
Grey's Anatomy star Kevin McKidd starred in a one-off drama for BBC Scotland, One Night In Emergency'', the story of one man's surreal search for his wife in an inner-city hospital. The film, which was filmed in and around Glasgow, was written by
Gregory Burke, and directed by Michael Offer. Also in 2009, Ryan filmed
4.3.2.1., a crime thriller starring
Emma Roberts,
Noel Clarke,
Tamsin Egerton and
Ophelia Lovibond. She starred in a stage production of
The Talented Mr. Ripley at the
Royal Theatre in
Northampton until 9 October 2010. In October 2010, she completed filming the terrorist thriller
Cleanskin. That same year, she appeared in the comedy film
Huge alongside
Noel Clarke,
Johnny Harris,
Ralph Brown,
Thandiwe Newton, and
Tamsin Egerton, directed by
Ben Miller. Another film,
No Ordinary Trifle, is in post-production. Also in 2011, Ryan played
Helena from ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream in the BBC Learning project Off By Heart Shakespeare''.
2012–present: Cockneys vs Zombies, Cabaret and EastEnders return Ryan also appeared in
Cockneys vs Zombies, a
comedy horror film about a team of bank robbers fighting the undead, directed by
Matthias Hoene, alongside
Georgia King,
Rasmus Hardiker and
Jack Doolan. The film was released in September 2012. For the final months of 2012, Ryan toured with
Will Young in a production of
Cabaret. This
production also played in London's West End. In 2018, Ryan began reprising her
Doctor Who role as Lady Christina in her own
Big Finish Productions spinoff
audio drama series. Despite several offers to return to
EastEnders, Ryan had repeatedly turned them down over the previous twenty years. However, in May 2025, it was announced that Ryan would reprise her role as Zoe Slater later in the year. She made an unannounced return in the episode broadcast on 16 June 2025. ==Other activities==