Ayola began her career in the theatre, performing in a number of
Shakespearean plays including
Twelfth Night, ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth. She has identified her dream role to be that of Isabella in Measure for Measure, as she once lost out on the part and would like to prove herself capable of playing it. Ayola recalls having been daunted at the prospect of working alongside so many established names, but has said it was a "wonderful experience". thriller The i Inside'', filmed in Sully Hospital, Cardiff, and starring
Ryan Phillippe, Ayola says of her film career: "I really like doing film [but] I've not done enough big films though to really know the difference between film and television." She went on to appear in
Gone With the Wind sequel
Scarlett, She has spoken critically of the way the BBC treated the soap, moving it around the schedules and declining to commission a second series. She posed nude but for a pair of yellow rubber gloves to promote the show's launch, and was highly critical of the BBC when the show was cancelled midway through its second series. soap opera
EastEnders (2001),
Waking the Dead (2001), ''
London's Burning (2001), Murder in Mind (2003), The Canterbury Tales (2003) and Sea of Souls (2004). In 2009, Ayola starred in the CBBC musical comedy My Almost Famous Family''. She stated: "The script made me laugh out loud when I read it. [...] I also like the fact that there were a lot of correct boxes being ticked, but the writers and producer haven't been restrained by that. "So, instead of bowing to this altar, they've said, 'Okay, we have this family that's half-black, half-white, half-American, half-British. We have a mix of boys and girls, one character who's mixed-raced and deaf – but we're not going to be restrained by any of that. We're not going to tiptoe around Martha's disability or anything.' I liked that. It wasn't some sort of reverential hands-off approach to what we're presenting." She has also been cast in the film
Dredd. In 2016 she played Amber Haleford in "Tuesday's Child", S6:E2 of
Vera. 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. In 2017 Ayola founded Shanty Productions with her husband
Adam Smethurst. In 2020, she won the Best Female Actor in a Play award at the Black British Theatre Awards for her performance in
On Bear Ridge for
National Theatre Wales and the
Royal Court.
Holby City From 7 February 2006 to 9 December 2008, Ayola starred in BBC medical drama
Holby City as nurse
Kyla Tyson. She had previously appeared in
Holby City sister show
Casualty, She was approached about returning to the show in a more permanent role by BBC
casting director Julie Harkin. 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", stating: "I've been someone who's loved the uncertainty of acting. I've loved that one month it's
Sahara in Morocco and the next I'm doing a stage play, then it's a six-part telly thing. But last summer I started thinking it would be really nice not to have to look for a job every couple of weeks. It would be nice just to stay put for a while. If I'm going to be a working mum I'd rather just be one rather than be one intermittently. And then
Holby came along, so I'm very grateful". Ayola signed a three-year contract to play Kyla, and described herself as "very similar" to her character, speaking positively about her working relationship with co-stars
Jaye Jacobs and
Sharon D. Clarke, as well as the "dream" storylines her character was given.
Race and charity work Throughout her career, Ayola has been outspoken on the subject of racial discrimination in the entertainment industry. Describing her motivation, she states: "I am not an overtly political person. I just want fairness". Ayola believes that black actors receive less recognition than their white counterparts, explaining; "If you get a show with six stars and one is black you are more likely to see interviews with the five white actors. [...] They are not being sold as a reason to watch." She believes that her career would have taken her in a different direction were she not Black, stating: "I could not have played any of the roles I have played on TV if I was white [...] I am very aware of where the glass ceiling is and it's still very low and expectations are still very low". She has noted having casting directors accept the notion of characters being both black and Welsh to be a particular problem, explaining that: "I get offered a lot of very different roles, but they're never Welsh. [...] 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". In 2001, Ayola founded a production company and directed a short film entitled ''Persephone's Playground
. She presented the film at the Cannes film festival, using it as part of her campaign for increased black representation in theatre, films and television. In 2008, Ayola offered her support to the Action for Southern Africa campaign Dignity! Period'', aiming to provide affordable
sanitary protection to
Zimbabwean women.
Awards Ayola was nominated and shortlisted for the 'Female Performance in TV' award in the 2006
Screen Nation Awards, for her role as
Kyla Tyson in
Holby City. She received Honourable Mention for the same role the following year, and was shortlisted again in 2008. 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." She placed 40th in 2008, with the
Western Mail noting: "the last 15 years have only seen Rakie become more beautiful and more successful". Ayola placed 17th in the awards in 2009. Rakie is a Trustee of ACT, the Actors' Children's Trust, and an Ambassador of PIPA, Parents in Performing Arts. In 2021, she won a
BAFTA for her role in the
BBC One drama
Anthony. In 2023, Ayola was the 18th recipient of the
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. == Personal life ==