Ayesha Antoine is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She is known for portraying Rachel Baptiste in ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'', and Poppy Silver in ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

''.

Background

Antoine was born in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. She is of English,

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

n, and Welsh descent.5 minutes with… Ayesha Antoine
Tiscali.co.uk. In 1998 Antoine studied Psychology and English at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. After graduating, she returned to London to restart her career. She said: :"It’s good to have another trick up your sleeve. I have always been interested in psychology, and I’d love to be able to do something with child psychology. Maybe do both acting and psychology, who knows?" A hyperactive child (learning the violin and piano as well as attending acting and dance classes), at the age of eight she entered a National Talent Contest which was televised on the Saturday morning BBC children's show, ''

Going Live! ''Going Live!'' was a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Annabel Giles, Phillip Hod ...

''. Dancing, singing and rapping to Salt'n'Pepa's 'Express Yourself' was Antoine's first television appearance.

Career

Television

Antoine began her television career in the 1990s playing Poppy Silver in ''

''. At this time she also made her first appearance in ''

''. Other television credits include the role of Kelly Grogan in

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

''Placebo'' and a husband-beating shoplifter in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. In 2007, Antoine guest starred as Dee Dee Blasco in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode "

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

", an experience she described as: "so much fun…it’s a brilliant show and I loved every minute." She joined the regular cast of ''

'' in 2008, playing

staff nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...

Rachel Baptiste. In 2009, Antoine appeared in BAFTA winner Paul Whitehouse's new series ''Down The Line''.

Radio

In 2005, Antoine won the Norman Beaton Fellowship.BBC – SoundStart – Norman Beaton Fellowship Winners 2005
/ref> She was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company for six months and lent her voice to over twenty five

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s including '' The Lysistrata Project'', ''Hold My Breath'', ''Westway'', ''The'' ''No.1 Ladies Detective Agency'', ''The Fountain Overflows'' and ''Father & Son''.

Other

In 2011, she joined the cast of

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

Bernice Summerfield audio plays Bernice may refer to: Places In the United States * Bernice, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bernice, Louisiana, a town * Bernice, Nevada, a ghost town * Bernice, Oklahoma, a town * Bernice Coalfield, a coalfield in Sullivan County, Pennsy ...

as Ruth. In 2013, she was the featured presenter for ''Dr. Forever!'', a five-part documentary series featured in the Classic Doctor Who DVD range.

Filmography

Theatre

*''The Firework Maker’s Daughter'', Theatre Royal, Newcastle, February 2005 (playing Lila) *''Big White Fog'', Almeida Theatre, May 2007 to June 2007 (playing Caroline Mason)Ayesha Antoine , London Theatre Database
*''Familyman'',

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

, May 2008 (playing Keisha) *''MADBLUD'',

, February 2009 *''

My Wonderful Day ''My Wonderful Day'' is a 2009 play by Alan Ayckbourn. It is about a nine-year-old girl, Winnie, who has an essay to write about her day, and records the shenanigans of grown-ups around her. This was the first Ayckbourn play to feature parts wr ...

'',

Stephen Joseph Theatre The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on the f ...

, Scarborough, October 2009 (playing Winnie) *'' Cinderella'', Theatre Royal Stratford East, December 2011 to January 2012 *''Red Velvet'', Garrick theatre London, 23 January 2016 to 27 February 2016 *''Dirty Great Love Story'', Arts theatre London, 18 January 2017 to 18 March 2017 *''White Teeth'', Kiln theatre London, 7 August 2018, Kiln Theater

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antoine, Ayesha 1981 births Living people Actresses from Essex English people of Dominica descent Alumni of the University of Manchester Black British actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses