Cara Readle (born 8 January 1991) is a Welsh actress from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, known mainly for her role as Layla in ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' from series three to five.

Early life and career

Readle, formally known as Melissa, was born in

to 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 ...

father, Alan and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

mother, Tracy and raised in

Mumbles Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Toponym Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...

, and has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

. The characters she played in ''Zig Zag Love'' and ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' also have this condition. In November 2009, she also had a part in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', playing a patient with cerebral palsy called Serena Wark. The character's sister, Shona Wark, portrayed by

Evelyn Hoskins Evelyn Hoskins (born 13 May 1988) is an English actress best known for her role as Shona Wark in the British BBC1 hospital drama series ''Casualty''. Evelyn's other television appearances include an appearance in ''Holby City'', also as Shona ...

, has reappeared several times as a recurring character, becoming involved in a storyline centring on character Charlie Fairhead ( Derek Thompson), but despite this, Serena has never reappeared. Cara more recently worked with BBC Ouch! to share life experiences about her disability. From 2011, she has starred in the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

series '' Baker Boys'' as Elen, the daughter of

Eve Myles Eve Myles (born 26 July 1978) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles portraying Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series '' Belonging'' (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series ''Torchw ...

' character Sarah. In 2014, she featured in episode 5 (of 8) of the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

drama ''

The Smoke The Smoke were an English pop group from York. They consisted of Mick Rowley (lead vocals), Mal Luker (lead guitar), John "Zeke" Lund (bass) and Geoff Gill (drums and compositor). The band originally performed around Yorkshire as The Moons ...

'' alongside

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017). She came to prominence ...

, starring as a receptionist. From 2021 to 2022 she featured in

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

show ''Biff & Chip'' as Sam.

References

External links

*
BBC page for LaylaPresenter Cerrie Burnell chats to actress Cara ReadleTV's Gail Porter meets actor Cara ReadleActress calls for more disabled people on TVGive me the same chances on set"I'm not aware of breaking new ground, acting is what I do"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Readle, Cara 1991 births Welsh child actresses British television actresses Living people Welsh people of English descent Actresses from Swansea People with cerebral palsy Welsh people with disabilities 21st-century Welsh actresses