 City in order to have a second child , stating : " I 've had a great time and I 'll miss it . I made the decision purely because I was pregnant , but I wasn 't really ready to put down the character of Kyla . I 'm very sorry to have to let her go . "   = = = 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 of ethnic origin , 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 . The project , however , was largely unsuccessful , with Ayola stating : " it just made me decide that if there 's anything I don 't want to do , it 's produce films , because I 'm rubbish at it . I was so bad with the budget that I just said yes to everything and then had to worry about how to pay for things at the end . " 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 .   = = Personal life = =   Ayola describes herself as " optimistic , cynical , lazy , naive [ and ] honest " . She spends her free time " watching television , the theatre , cinema , concerts , indoor wall climbing [ and ] keeping fit [ with ] yoga [ and ] aerobics " . She has a collection of Troll dolls which she keeps under her bath . Ayola has an interest in travel , and has visited Peru and Kenya among other destinations . She has expressed a desire to visit Brazil and Argentina , and has " a romantic notion of travelling around Europe in a camper van " . Ayola often speaks of her pride in her Welsh upbringing , describing herself as " an Ely girl through and through " . She was made a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2003 .   During a 1998 production of Hamlet , Ayola met her future husband , fellow actor Adam Smethurst – son of Love Thy Neighbour star Jack Smethurst . They met again two years later , during a production of Twelfth Night , and went on to become a couple . The pair married in May 2004 , and Ayola gave birth to their first daughter in July that year . Their second daughter was born in January 2009 .   = = Filmography = =   Ayola has undertaken the following roles from her screen and televisual debut in 1993 , to the present day .   = = = Film roles = = =   = = = Television roles = = =  
ĠCity Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġhave Ġa Ġsecond Ġchild Ġ, Ġstating Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġ' ve Ġhad Ġa Ġgreat Ġtime Ġand ĠI Ġ' ll Ġmiss Ġit Ġ. ĠI Ġmade Ġthe Ġdecision Ġpurely Ġbecause ĠI Ġwas Ġpregnant Ġ, Ġbut ĠI Ġwasn Ġ' t Ġreally Ġready Ġto Ġput Ġdown Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġof ĠKyl a Ġ. ĠI Ġ' m Ġvery Ġsorry Ġto Ġhave Ġto Ġlet Ġher Ġgo Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠRace Ġand Ġcharity Ġwork Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThroughout Ġher Ġcareer Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġhas Ġbeen Ġoutspoken Ġon Ġthe Ġsubject Ġof Ġracial Ġdiscrimination Ġin Ġthe Ġentertainment Ġindustry Ġ. ĠDesc ribing Ġher Ġmotivation Ġ, Ġshe Ġstates Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġam Ġnot Ġan Ġovertly Ġpolitical Ġperson Ġ. ĠI Ġjust Ġwant Ġfairness Ġ" Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġbelieves Ġthat Ġblack Ġactors Ġreceive Ġless Ġrecognition Ġthan Ġtheir Ġwhite Ġcounterparts Ġ, Ġexplaining Ġ; Ġ" ĠIf Ġyou Ġget Ġa Ġshow Ġwith Ġsix Ġstars Ġand Ġone Ġis Ġblack Ġyou Ġare Ġmore Ġlikely Ġto Ġsee Ġinterviews Ġwith Ġthe Ġfive Ġwhite Ġactors Ġ. Ġ[ Ġ... Ġ] ĠThey Ġare Ġnot Ġbeing Ġsold Ġas Ġa Ġreason Ġto Ġwatch Ġ. Ġ" ĠShe Ġbelieves Ġthat Ġher Ġcareer Ġwould Ġhave Ġtaken Ġher Ġin Ġa Ġdifferent Ġdirection Ġwere Ġshe Ġnot Ġof Ġethnic Ġorigin Ġ, Ġstating Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġcould Ġnot Ġhave Ġplayed Ġany Ġof Ġthe Ġroles ĠI Ġhave Ġplayed Ġon ĠTV Ġif ĠI Ġwas Ġwhite Ġ[ Ġ... Ġ] ĠI Ġam Ġvery Ġaware Ġof Ġwhere Ġthe Ġglass Ġceiling Ġis Ġand Ġit Ġ' s Ġstill Ġvery Ġlow Ġand Ġexpectations Ġare Ġstill Ġvery Ġlow Ġ" Ġ. ĠShe Ġhas Ġnoted Ġhaving Ġcasting Ġdirectors Ġaccept Ġthe Ġnotion Ġof Ġcharacters Ġbeing Ġboth Ġblack Ġand ĠWelsh Ġto Ġbe Ġa Ġparticular Ġproblem Ġ, Ġexplaining Ġthat Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġget Ġoffered Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġvery Ġdifferent Ġroles Ġ, Ġbut Ġthey Ġ' re Ġnever ĠWelsh Ġ. Ġ[ Ġ... Ġ] ĠThe Ġone Ġtime ĠI Ġwas Ġasked Ġto Ġplay Ġa ĠWelsh Ġcharacter Ġon Ġscreen Ġwas Ġin ĠTiger ĠBay Ġfor ĠBBC ĠWales Ġ, Ġbut ĠI Ġknow Ġif Ġthat Ġseries Ġhad Ġbeen Ġcalled ĠRad yr ĠPark Ġor ĠCyn co ed ĠClose ĠI Ġwouldn Ġ' t Ġhave Ġbeen Ġin Ġit Ġ" Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2001 Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġfounded Ġa Ġproduction Ġcompany Ġand Ġdirected Ġa Ġshort Ġfilm Ġentitled ĠPerse phone Ġ' s ĠPlay ground Ġ. ĠShe Ġpresented Ġthe Ġfilm Ġat Ġthe ĠCannes Ġfilm Ġfestival Ġ, Ġusing Ġit Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġher Ġcampaign Ġfor Ġincreased Ġblack Ġrepresentation Ġin Ġtheatre Ġ, Ġfilms Ġand Ġtelevision Ġ. ĠThe Ġproject Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwas Ġlargely Ġunsuccessful Ġ, Ġwith ĠAy ola Ġstating Ġ: Ġ" Ġit Ġjust Ġmade Ġme Ġdecide Ġthat Ġif Ġthere Ġ' s Ġanything ĠI Ġdon Ġ' t Ġwant Ġto Ġdo Ġ, Ġit Ġ' s Ġproduce Ġfilms Ġ, Ġbecause ĠI Ġ' m Ġrubbish Ġat Ġit Ġ. ĠI Ġwas Ġso Ġbad Ġwith Ġthe Ġbudget Ġthat ĠI Ġjust Ġsaid Ġyes Ġto Ġeverything Ġand Ġthen Ġhad Ġto Ġworry Ġabout Ġhow Ġto Ġpay Ġfor Ġthings Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġ. Ġ" ĠIn Ġ2008 Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġoffered Ġher Ġsupport Ġto Ġthe ĠAction Ġfor ĠSouthern ĠAfrica Ġcampaign ĠDign ity Ġ! ĠPeriod Ġ, Ġaiming Ġto Ġprovide Ġaffordable Ġsan itary Ġprotection Ġto ĠZimbabwe an Ġwomen Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠAwards Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġwas Ġnominated Ġand Ġshort listed Ġfor Ġthe Ġ' ĠFemale ĠPerformance Ġin ĠTV Ġ' Ġaward Ġin Ġthe Ġ2006 ĠScreen ĠNation ĠAwards Ġ, Ġfor Ġher Ġrole Ġas ĠKyl a ĠTyson Ġin ĠHol by ĠCity Ġ. ĠShe Ġreceived ĠHonour able ĠM ention Ġfor Ġthe Ġsame Ġrole Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġyear Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġshort listed Ġagain Ġin Ġ2008 Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, ĠWales Online Ġvoted ĠAy ola Ġthe Ġ29 th Ġsex iest Ġwoman Ġin ĠWales Ġ, Ġsaying Ġof Ġher Ġ: Ġ" ĠOne Ġof Ġour Ġfavourite Ġthe s ps Ġ, Ġshe Ġ' s Ġblack Ġ, Ġbeautiful Ġand Ġthe Ġterm Ġ" Ġy ummy Ġmummy Ġ" Ġshould Ġhave Ġbeen Ġmade Ġfor Ġher Ġ. Ġ" ĠShe Ġplaced Ġ40 th Ġin Ġ2008 Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠWestern ĠMail Ġnoting Ġ: Ġ" Ġthe Ġlast Ġ15 Ġyears Ġhave Ġonly Ġseen ĠRak ie Ġbecome Ġmore Ġbeautiful Ġand Ġmore Ġsuccessful Ġ" Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġplaced Ġ17 th Ġin Ġthe Ġawards Ġin Ġ2009 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPersonal Ġlife Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġdescribes Ġherself Ġas Ġ" Ġoptimistic Ġ, Ġcynical Ġ, Ġlazy Ġ, Ġnaive Ġ[ Ġand Ġ] Ġhonest Ġ" Ġ. ĠShe Ġspends Ġher Ġfree Ġtime Ġ" Ġwatching Ġtelevision Ġ, Ġthe Ġtheatre Ġ, Ġcinema Ġ, Ġconcerts Ġ, Ġindoor Ġwall Ġclimbing Ġ[ Ġand Ġ] Ġkeeping Ġfit Ġ[ Ġwith Ġ] Ġyoga Ġ[ Ġand Ġ] Ġaer ob ics Ġ" Ġ. ĠShe Ġhas Ġa Ġcollection Ġof ĠTroll Ġdolls Ġwhich Ġshe Ġkeeps Ġunder Ġher Ġbath Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġhas Ġan Ġinterest Ġin Ġtravel Ġ, Ġand Ġhas Ġvisited ĠPeru Ġand ĠKenya Ġamong Ġother Ġdestinations Ġ. ĠShe Ġhas Ġexpressed Ġa Ġdesire Ġto Ġvisit ĠBrazil Ġand ĠArgentina Ġ, Ġand Ġhas Ġ" Ġa Ġromantic Ġnotion Ġof Ġtravelling Ġaround ĠEurope Ġin Ġa Ġcam per Ġvan Ġ" Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġoften Ġspeaks Ġof Ġher Ġpride Ġin Ġher ĠWelsh Ġupbringing Ġ, Ġdescribing Ġherself Ġas Ġ" Ġan ĠEly Ġgirl Ġthrough Ġand Ġthrough Ġ" Ġ. ĠShe Ġwas Ġmade Ġa ĠFellow Ġof Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠWelsh ĠCollege Ġof ĠMusic Ġand ĠDrama Ġin Ġ2003 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġa Ġ1998 Ġproduction Ġof ĠHam let Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġmet Ġher Ġfuture Ġhusband Ġ, Ġfellow Ġactor ĠAdam ĠSm eth urst ĠâĢĵ Ġson Ġof ĠLove ĠThy ĠNeigh bour Ġstar ĠJack ĠSm eth urst Ġ. ĠThey Ġmet Ġagain Ġtwo Ġyears Ġlater Ġ, Ġduring Ġa Ġproduction Ġof ĠTw elfth ĠNight Ġ, Ġand Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġbecome Ġa Ġcouple Ġ. ĠThe Ġpair Ġmarried Ġin ĠMay Ġ2004 Ġ, Ġand ĠAy ola Ġgave Ġbirth Ġto Ġtheir Ġfirst Ġdaughter Ġin ĠJuly Ġthat Ġyear Ġ. ĠTheir Ġsecond Ġdaughter Ġwas Ġborn Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ2009 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠFilm ography Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġhas Ġundertaken Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġroles Ġfrom Ġher Ġscreen Ġand Ġtelev is ual Ġdebut Ġin Ġ1993 Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġpresent Ġday Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠFilm Ġroles Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTelevision Ġroles Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ