Laura Rollins (born 20 December)[2] is a British-Bajan actress, known for portraying the role of Ayesha Lee on the BBC soap opera Doctors, a role which she played from September 2014 to June 2020. For her portrayal of Ayesha, she won the award for Best Female Dramatic Performance at the RTS Midlands Awards. Since leaving Doctors, Rollins has appeared in various television series including Innocent and Miss Scarlet and The Duke.
Laura Rollins is of British and Barbadian heritage.
She began her acting training at the Carlton Junior Television Workshop, and while studying there, she made her television debut on the children's series The Demon Headmaster at the age of 10.[3] She was also featured in various advertisements and performed at the British Academy Children's Awards.[4]
In 1999, Rollins starred in Welcome To Orty Fou as Caroline Saunders.[5]
In 2013, she appeared in the feature film Communion, and in 2014, she auditioned for a role in the BBC soap opera Doctors. She took a sick day from work to attend the audition, and after a two-week process, she was given the role of Ayesha Lee.[5][6] While on the series, Rollins' character's storylines included romances with co-workers Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) and Bear Sylvester (Dex Lee), facing prejudice due to her race and troubled upbringing, and struggling with her mother's alcoholism and subsequent death, for which she won a Royal Television Society award for Best Female Dramatic Performance.[7][8]
She then starred in the 2016 short film From Noya,[9][10] and the 2018 short film Shining Tor, for which she won Best Performance for at the 2019 Short Film Awards.[11]
In January 2020, Rollins appeared in an episode of the BBC crime drama Silent Witness as Kate Langley.[12] On 20 May 2020, it was announced that Rollins would be leaving Doctors after six years in the role of Ayesha.[13] Her final scenes aired on 5 June 2020.[14]
^Anderson, Daniel (November 2016), From Noya, Husnaa Anderson, Laura Rollins, Daniel Anderson, archived from the original on 13 February 2017, retrieved 9 January 2018
^Jones, Allison (30 May – 5 June 2020). "'Leaving Doctors was a scary decision!'". Inside Soap. No. 22. pp. 48–49.
^Writer: Henrietta Hardy; Director: Steve M Kelly; Producer: Carol Harding (5 June 2020). "Stepping Stones". Doctors. BBC. BBC One. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
