Rachel Adedeji (born 22 August 1991) is a Nigerian-British singer and actress. She finished in ninth place on
sixth series of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' in 2009, having previously appeared on the
fifth series. From 2016 to 2020, she appeared in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
soap opera ''
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''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'' as
Lisa Loveday
''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive pr ...
.
Career
Adedeji began her career as a singer, beginning singing at the age of eight, later studying musical theater in college. She performed in many musical productions and had a role in the musical ''
Mamma Mia!''. In 2008, Adedeji entered the
fifth series of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', where she made it to bootcamp. Adedeji later returned to the programme for the
sixth series, where she finished in ninth place.
On 21 March 2016, it was announced that Adedeji had joined the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
soap opera ''
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''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'' as
Lisa Loveday
''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive pr ...
, the long-lost daughter of
Simone Loveday
''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive pr ...
(
Jacqueline Boatswain
Jacqueline Boatswain (sometimes credited as Jacqui Boatswain) is an English actress.
Career
She is best known for playing headmistress Mrs Bassinger in the long-running BBC school drama, ''Grange Hill'', from 2003–2006. The character's fi ...
) and
Louis Loveday
'' Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive p ...
(
Karl Collins). She made her on-screen debut in April 2016. For her performance as Lisa, she was longlisted for
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
at
The British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...
in 2017.
On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Adedeji was expecting her first child and would take maternity leave. Her return to the programme aired on 13 November 2018. In June 2020, it was announced that Adedeji had quit the programme, with her final scenes airing later in the year. In October 2021, Adedeji portrayed the role of
April Lewin in an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
In 2015, Adedeji married Jason Finnegan; she announced she was pregnant with the pair's first child in 2017, taking maternity leave from ''Hollyoaks''. In 2020, Adedeji took to social media to open up about racism she has encountered while working on the programme. She stated she was told "You're all the same" by a make-up artist, and said that black actresses on ''Hollyoaks'' were "forced to drastically change their hair" after being told viewers wouldn't be able to tell them apart, and that in her four years on the soap, she had only worked with one black director. She added: "Working at ''Hollyoaks'' is mostly positive, but the experiences I have encountered are a constant reminder of how difficult it is being a black woman in the industry. I am no longer standing for it." A few days later, the soap launched an investigation into her claims, with producers stating that they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by the issues that she had addressed. The investigation included a multi-step action plan to root out any further instances of racism.