 CBBC musical comedy My Almost Famous Family .   Ayola is an advocate of increased ethnic representation in the entertainment industry , and in 2001 founded her own production company , producing the short film Persephone 's Playground for the Cannes film festival in order to further her campaign . In 2006 , Ayola was shortlisted for the ' Female Performance in TV ' award in the Screen Nation Awards , receiving Honourable Mention in the same category in 2007 , and a further shortlisted nomination in 2008 . She is married to fellow actor Adam Smethurst , with whom she has two daughters .   = = Early life = =   Ayola was born in Cardiff , Wales in May 1968 , to a Sierra Leonean mother and a Nigerian father . She was raised by her mother 's cousin and his wife in Ely , Cardiff . Ayola 's heritage means she is Yoruba by descent , although she does not speak the language . Ayola studied at Windsor Clive Primary and Glan Ely High School , and was a member of the Orbit Youth Theatre , South Glamorgan Youth Theatre , South Glamorgan Youth Choir and the National Youth Theatre of Wales . She left high school before sitting her A Levels in order to pursue her ambition of becoming an actress . She explains : " I 've always wanted to act . I decided at 16 I wanted to make my living acting , but even if I couldn 't , I ’ d be in an amateur theatre company . " She then went on to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama , studying for a three @-@ year acting diploma . Her first acting role was for the Welsh Eisteddfod when still at primary school , playing a lady @-@ in @-@ waiting at the court of King Arthur . Ayola has stated that it was Barbra Streisand 's performance in Hello , Dolly ! that inspired her to act as a child , though credits her adoptive mother with encouraging her to act professionally . Ayola 's first job was selling jeans on Bessemer Road Market in Cardiff . She worked as a chambermaid whilst attending drama school , and , six weeks prior to graduation , was offered a job with the ' Made in Wales ' theatre company which enabled her to obtain her union card .   = = Career = =   Ayola began her career in the theatre , performing in a number of Shakespearean plays including Twelfth Night , A Midsummer Night 's Dream , The Tempest , The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth . She states of this : " Shakespeare keeps coming my way . I love the fact that I get to play people who are much more articulate than I 'll ever be " . Ayola has performed in Twelfth Night in the lead roles of both Olivia and Viola . She explains : " The role of Viola didn 't sit that well with me for some reason but Olivia makes more sense . " She has also appeared in modern performances , assuming the title role of Dido , Queen of Carthage at the Globe Theatre in London in 2003 , which she described as " a dream of a part " . She has deemed her dream role to be that of Isabella in Measure for Measure , as she once lost out on the part and would like to prove herself capable of playing it .   Ayola 's first film appearance was in the 1993 film Great Moments in Aviation , written by Jeanette Winterson , in which she starred alongside Jonathan Pryce and John Hurt . Variety magazine 's David Rooney said of her performance : " In the film 's most naturalistic turn , Ayola is a constant pleasure to watch . Unforced and appealing , she often succeeds in pulling the fanciful fireworks momentarily back down to Earth . " Ayola recalls having been daunted at the prospect of working alongside so many established names , but has deemed it to have been a " wonderful experience " . Her subsequent film credits are romantic comedy The Secret Laughter of Women , set in Nigeria and starring Colin Firth , thriller The i Inside , filmed in Sully Hospital , Cardiff , and starring Ryan Phillippe , and Sahara , filmed in Morocco whilst Ayola was pregnant with her first child , starring Penélope Cruz . Ayola says of her film career : " I really like doing film [ but ] I 've not done enough big films though to really know the difference between film and television . "   Ayola 's first prolific television role was in the ITV drama Soldier Soldier , in which she starred throughout its third series in 1993 as soldier 's wife Bernie Roberts . Ayola credits her chemistry with co @-@ star Akim Mogaji , who played her on @-@ screen husband Luke Roberts , for winning her her audition . She went on to appear in Gone With the Wind sequel Scarlett , and star in Welsh soap opera Tiger Bay . She has spoken critically of the way the BBC treated the soap , moving it around the schedules and declining to commission a second series . She acted alongside Pauline Quirke in
ĠCB BC Ġmusical Ġcomedy ĠMy ĠAlmost ĠFamous ĠFamily Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġis Ġan Ġadvocate Ġof Ġincreased Ġethnic Ġrepresentation Ġin Ġthe Ġentertainment Ġindustry Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġ2001 Ġfounded Ġher Ġown Ġproduction Ġcompany Ġ, Ġproducing Ġthe Ġshort Ġfilm ĠPerse phone Ġ' s ĠPlay ground Ġfor Ġthe ĠCannes Ġfilm Ġfestival Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġfurther Ġher Ġcampaign Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2006 Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġwas Ġshort listed Ġfor Ġthe Ġ' ĠFemale ĠPerformance Ġin ĠTV Ġ' Ġaward Ġin Ġthe ĠScreen ĠNation ĠAwards Ġ, Ġreceiving ĠHonour able ĠM ention Ġin Ġthe Ġsame Ġcategory Ġin Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġfurther Ġshort listed Ġnomination Ġin Ġ2008 Ġ. ĠShe Ġis Ġmarried Ġto Ġfellow Ġactor ĠAdam ĠSm eth urst Ġ, Ġwith Ġwhom Ġshe Ġhas Ġtwo Ġdaughters Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEarly Ġlife Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġwas Ġborn Ġin ĠCardiff Ġ, ĠWales Ġin ĠMay Ġ1968 Ġ, Ġto Ġa ĠSierra ĠLeone an Ġmother Ġand Ġa ĠNigerian Ġfather Ġ. ĠShe Ġwas Ġraised Ġby Ġher Ġmother Ġ' s Ġcousin Ġand Ġhis Ġwife Ġin ĠEly Ġ, ĠCardiff Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġ' s Ġheritage Ġmeans Ġshe Ġis ĠYor uba Ġby Ġdescent Ġ, Ġalthough Ġshe Ġdoes Ġnot Ġspeak Ġthe Ġlanguage Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġstudied Ġat ĠWindsor ĠClive ĠPrimary Ġand ĠGl an ĠEly ĠHigh ĠSchool Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġa Ġmember Ġof Ġthe ĠOrbit ĠYouth ĠTheatre Ġ, ĠSouth ĠG lam organ ĠYouth ĠTheatre Ġ, ĠSouth ĠG lam organ ĠYouth ĠCho ir Ġand Ġthe ĠNational ĠYouth ĠTheatre Ġof ĠWales Ġ. ĠShe Ġleft Ġhigh Ġschool Ġbefore Ġsitting Ġher ĠA ĠLevels Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġpursue Ġher Ġambition Ġof Ġbecoming Ġan Ġactress Ġ. ĠShe Ġexplains Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġ' ve Ġalways Ġwanted Ġto Ġact Ġ. ĠI Ġdecided Ġat Ġ16 ĠI Ġwanted Ġto Ġmake Ġmy Ġliving Ġacting Ġ, Ġbut Ġeven Ġif ĠI Ġcouldn Ġ' t Ġ, ĠI ĠâĢ Ļ Ġd Ġbe Ġin Ġan Ġamateur Ġtheatre Ġcompany Ġ. Ġ" ĠShe Ġthen Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġattend Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠWelsh ĠCollege Ġof ĠMusic Ġand ĠDrama Ġ, Ġstudying Ġfor Ġa Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġacting Ġdiploma Ġ. ĠHer Ġfirst Ġacting Ġrole Ġwas Ġfor Ġthe ĠWelsh ĠE ist edd f od Ġwhen Ġstill Ġat Ġprimary Ġschool Ġ, Ġplaying Ġa Ġlady Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġ@ - @ Ġwaiting Ġat Ġthe Ġcourt Ġof ĠKing ĠArthur Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġhas Ġstated Ġthat Ġit Ġwas ĠBarb ra ĠStre is and Ġ' s Ġperformance Ġin ĠHello Ġ, ĠD olly Ġ! Ġthat Ġinspired Ġher Ġto Ġact Ġas Ġa Ġchild Ġ, Ġthough Ġcredits Ġher Ġadoptive Ġmother Ġwith Ġencouraging Ġher Ġto Ġact Ġprofessionally Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġjob Ġwas Ġselling Ġjeans Ġon ĠBes se mer ĠRoad ĠMarket Ġin ĠCardiff Ġ. ĠShe Ġworked Ġas Ġa Ġchamber maid Ġwhilst Ġattending Ġdrama Ġschool Ġ, Ġand Ġ, Ġsix Ġweeks Ġprior Ġto Ġgraduation Ġ, Ġwas Ġoffered Ġa Ġjob Ġwith Ġthe Ġ' ĠMade Ġin ĠWales Ġ' Ġtheatre Ġcompany Ġwhich Ġenabled Ġher Ġto Ġobtain Ġher Ġunion Ġcard Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCareer Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġbegan Ġher Ġcareer Ġin Ġthe Ġtheatre Ġ, Ġperforming Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġof ĠShakespeare an Ġplays Ġincluding ĠTw elfth ĠNight Ġ, ĠA ĠM ids ummer ĠNight Ġ' s ĠDream Ġ, ĠThe ĠTempest Ġ, ĠThe ĠMerchant Ġof ĠVenice Ġand ĠMac b eth Ġ. ĠShe Ġstates Ġof Ġthis Ġ: Ġ" ĠShakespeare Ġkeeps Ġcoming Ġmy Ġway Ġ. ĠI Ġlove Ġthe Ġfact Ġthat ĠI Ġget Ġto Ġplay Ġpeople Ġwho Ġare Ġmuch Ġmore Ġarticulate Ġthan ĠI Ġ' ll Ġever Ġbe Ġ" Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġhas Ġperformed Ġin ĠTw elfth ĠNight Ġin Ġthe Ġlead Ġroles Ġof Ġboth ĠOlivia Ġand ĠViol a Ġ. ĠShe Ġexplains Ġ: Ġ" ĠThe Ġrole Ġof ĠViol a Ġdidn Ġ' t Ġsit Ġthat Ġwell Ġwith Ġme Ġfor Ġsome Ġreason Ġbut ĠOlivia Ġmakes Ġmore Ġsense Ġ. Ġ" ĠShe Ġhas Ġalso Ġappeared Ġin Ġmodern Ġperformances Ġ, Ġassuming Ġthe Ġtitle Ġrole Ġof ĠDid o Ġ, ĠQueen Ġof ĠCarth age Ġat Ġthe ĠGlobe ĠTheatre Ġin ĠLondon Ġin Ġ2003 Ġ, Ġwhich Ġshe Ġdescribed Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġdream Ġof Ġa Ġpart Ġ" Ġ. ĠShe Ġhas Ġdeemed Ġher Ġdream Ġrole Ġto Ġbe Ġthat Ġof ĠIs abella Ġin ĠMeasure Ġfor ĠMeasure Ġ, Ġas Ġshe Ġonce Ġlost Ġout Ġon Ġthe Ġpart Ġand Ġwould Ġlike Ġto Ġprove Ġherself Ġcapable Ġof Ġplaying Ġit Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġfilm Ġappearance Ġwas Ġin Ġthe Ġ1993 Ġfilm ĠGreat ĠMoments Ġin ĠAviation Ġ, Ġwritten Ġby ĠJean ette ĠWin terson Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġshe Ġstarred Ġalongside ĠJonathan ĠP ryce Ġand ĠJohn ĠHurt Ġ. ĠVariety Ġmagazine Ġ' s ĠDavid ĠRooney Ġsaid Ġof Ġher Ġperformance Ġ: Ġ" ĠIn Ġthe Ġfilm Ġ' s Ġmost Ġnatural istic Ġturn Ġ, ĠAy ola Ġis Ġa Ġconstant Ġpleasure Ġto Ġwatch Ġ. ĠUn forced Ġand Ġappealing Ġ, Ġshe Ġoften Ġsucceeds Ġin Ġpulling Ġthe Ġfanc iful Ġfireworks Ġmomentarily Ġback Ġdown Ġto ĠEarth Ġ. Ġ" ĠAy ola Ġrecalls Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġd aunted Ġat Ġthe Ġprospect Ġof Ġworking Ġalongside Ġso Ġmany Ġestablished Ġnames Ġ, Ġbut Ġhas Ġdeemed Ġit Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġa Ġ" Ġwonderful Ġexperience Ġ" Ġ. ĠHer Ġsubsequent Ġfilm Ġcredits Ġare Ġromantic Ġcomedy ĠThe ĠSecret ĠL aughter Ġof ĠWomen Ġ, Ġset Ġin ĠNigeria Ġand Ġstarring ĠColin ĠF irth Ġ, Ġthriller ĠThe Ġi ĠInside Ġ, Ġfilmed Ġin ĠS ully ĠHospital Ġ, ĠCardiff Ġ, Ġand Ġstarring ĠRyan ĠPhill ipp e Ġ, Ġand ĠSahara Ġ, Ġfilmed Ġin ĠMorocco Ġwhilst ĠAy ola Ġwas Ġpregnant Ġwith Ġher Ġfirst Ġchild Ġ, Ġstarring ĠPen Ã© l ope ĠCruz Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġsays Ġof Ġher Ġfilm Ġcareer Ġ: Ġ" ĠI Ġreally Ġlike Ġdoing Ġfilm Ġ[ Ġbut Ġ] ĠI Ġ' ve Ġnot Ġdone Ġenough Ġbig Ġfilms Ġthough Ġto Ġreally Ġknow Ġthe Ġdifference Ġbetween Ġfilm Ġand Ġtelevision Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠAy ola Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġprolific Ġtelevision Ġrole Ġwas Ġin Ġthe ĠITV Ġdrama ĠSoldier ĠSoldier Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġshe Ġstarred Ġthroughout Ġits Ġthird Ġseries Ġin Ġ1993 Ġas Ġsoldier Ġ' s Ġwife ĠBernie ĠRoberts Ġ. ĠAy ola Ġcredits Ġher Ġchemistry Ġwith Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġstar ĠAk im ĠMog aji Ġ, Ġwho Ġplayed Ġher Ġon Ġ@ - @ Ġscreen Ġhusband ĠLuke ĠRoberts Ġ, Ġfor Ġwinning Ġher Ġher Ġaudition Ġ. ĠShe Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġappear Ġin ĠGone ĠWith Ġthe ĠWind Ġsequel ĠScarlett Ġ, Ġand Ġstar Ġin ĠWelsh Ġsoap Ġopera ĠTiger ĠBay Ġ. ĠShe Ġhas Ġspoken Ġcritically Ġof Ġthe Ġway Ġthe ĠBBC Ġtreated Ġthe Ġsoap Ġ, Ġmoving Ġit Ġaround Ġthe Ġschedules Ġand Ġdeclining Ġto Ġcommission Ġa Ġsecond Ġseries Ġ. ĠShe Ġacted Ġalongside ĠPaul ine ĠQu ir ke Ġin