Phina Oruche (born 31 August 1969) is a

Nigerian British British Nigerians are British people of Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in S ...

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 ...

, radio presenter and former model best known for her performances as

Liberty Baker The following is a list of actors/actresses featured in the five series' of the United Kingdom TV series ''Footballers' Wives''. Series 1 *Zöe Lucker as Tanya Turner (Series 1–5)Lucker and Taylforth are the only cast members to have starred ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's ''

Footballers' Wives ''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives, broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different couples, but ...

'', for which she won a Screen Nations Award for Favourite TV Star.

Early life

Oruche was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n parents of Igbo descent.

Early career

Oruche began her career as a

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

. In

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before she emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She represented Gap for five years in the United States, and was featured as a cover model on many US magazines. She had a special relationship with ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' magazine and was often featured on its pages and on a cover. She was discovered for the TV screen by British film director Tony Kaye, who featured her in many of his TV commercials, as a result of which her desire to be an actress was born.

Acting

In July 2020 Oruche appeared as Aunt Venn in poignant BBC1 drama “Anthony” directed by Terry McDonaugh for LA Productions and simultaneously starred as Marvellous in BBC’s “ Taken Down” directed by BAFTA-winning David Caffrey for Spiral pictures. Oruche started her acting career in the US after an education in the Actors Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She is best known for her role as Liberty Baker in ''Footballers' Wives'', for which she won a Screen Nations award. She has appeared in American and British television shows including ''

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 ...

'', ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

'', ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', ''

Diagnosis Murder ''Diagnosis: Murder'' is an American action-comedy-mystery-medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyk ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' and ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled aft ...

''. Her film credits include '' The Forsaken'' (2001) and ''

Happy Ever Afters ''Happy Ever Afters'' is an Irish film written and directed by Stephen Burke and starring Sally Hawkins and Tom Riley. The film was first shown at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea on 10 October and released on 21 October 2009 ...

'' (2009). She made a cameo appearance in a January 2008 episode of the British

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show ''

Little Miss Jocelyn ''Little Miss Jocelyn'' is a British TV sketch comedy written by and starring Jocelyn Jee Esien. The show is made up of studio sketches and hidden camera footage in which unsuspecting members of the public become part of a sketch. The series r ...

''. On 29 March 2010, it was revealed she had been cast to play

Gabby Sharpe Gabby Sharpe is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Phina Oruche. She made her first on-screen appearance on 18 June 2010, before departing on 17 December 2010. Character creation and casting On 2 ...

, the mother of a new family, in teen soap ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''. On 1 November 2012 she made a return to television on the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

drama ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', before taking five years off to focus on raising her son.

Other television appearances

In 2012 she featured as the celebrity bedtime story reader, reading a story a day for children during the week of the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

. Oruche also featured as a special correspondent on ''

North West Tonight ''BBC North West Tonight'' is the BBC's regional television news programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 1.30pm (as ''North West Today''), 6.30pm and 10.30pm, with shorter bu ...

'', reporting on the 30-year anniversary of the

Toxteth riots The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community. They followed the Brixton riot earlier that year and we ...

. In

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Oruche presented a show three days a week on ''

Ireland AM ''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on Virgin Media One. It airs live every weekday from 07:00 to 10:00, and weekends from 9:00 to 12:00. The program features news, current affairs, weather updates, showbiz, fashion, beauty, fo ...

'' for TV3 and in London as a continued regular panellist on the morning discussion programme ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'' she was "Babe in the Booth" for the week starting 29 April 2008, when she was 36 weeks pregnant. Oruche lives in her native Liverpool, where she has presented and produced the Saturday-night radio programme ''Upfront'' on BBC Radio Merseyside. She has produced and hosted six ''Upfront Live'' shows for BBC Merseyside in Liverpool, at The Brink a non-alcoholic bar in Liverpool that she supports. Local singers such as Kof,

Chelcee Grimes Chelcee Maria Grimes (born 8 May 1992) is an English singer, songwriter, television presenter, and footballer. She wrote songs for Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, Blackpink, Kesha, Olly Murs, Jonas Blue, Louisa, the Saturdays, and Tom Walker. Gri ...

Mic Lowry Mic Lowry, stylised as MiC LOWRY, is a British vocal harmony boy band from Liverpool singing pop, contemporary R&B and soul music. The five-member band was formed in 2011 and is currently made up of Delleile Ankrah, Kaine Ofoeme, Ben Sharples a ...

, Chi Temu and Jamie Broad performed on the show.

''Identity Crisis''

Her one-woman ''Identity Crisis'', based on her own life story, received its debut at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in 2016, subsequently playing in 2017 at the

International Slavery Museum The International Slavery Museum is a museum located in Liverpool, England that focuses on the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. The museum which forms part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, consists of three main galleries ...

in Liverpool, before its first London run at the Kennington

Ovalhouse Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (located ...

."Identity Crisis by Phina Oruche"
Ovalhouse. Identity Crisis finished its run in Soho Playhouse NYC.

Other professional activities

Oruche hosted Merseyside Black History Month Achievers Awards at St George's, Hall Liverpool, and a

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

music panel, featuring local artists

Eddie Amoo The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes a string of British hits such as "Can' ...

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

, and Kof. A published writer, her children’s book series “Jacopo Jacopo Football Star” and “Jacopo Jacopo on Lockdown” about a 10-year-old mixed heritage boy from Liverpool and his quest to become a premier league football player, are both on Amazon both published in 2020 during the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. Oruche had a weekly column in the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

''. Her autobiography ''Liberating Character'' was published in April 2012. She also has a film company called Ibo Girl Productions, for which she directs, edits and produces digital shorts and videos.

Personal life

Oruche was married in August 2007, and she and her husband have one child. Oruche ran the 2007 and 2006

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

s, raising £35,000 for the

Anthony Nolan Trust Anthony Nolan is a UK charity that works in the areas of leukaemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It manages and recruits donors to the Anthony Nolan Register, which is part of an aligned registry that also includes the ''Welsh Bon ...

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oruche, Phina 1972 births English people of Igbo descent English people of Nigerian descent English soap opera actresses Living people Black British actresses Black British fashion people Actresses from Liverpool I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants Igbo people British emigrants to Nigeria