Alicya Eyo

Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 in Huyton, Merseyside. Her mother, Sue, is a jazz singer. She grew up in the Toxteth area of Liverpool.{{cite web| url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/emmerdale-actress-alicya-eyo-talks-3332533 |title=Emmerdale actress Alicya Eyo talks about coming back to Liverpool and wanting a family |publisher=Liverpool Echo |date=2012 }} Her love of drama started when she was nine, and she attended drama and dance classes every Saturday. When she was 14, she moved to London with her family. She trained at the Courtyard Theatre School.

Eyo's first television appearance was in 1997, in Casualty, which was filmed earlier. She also made an appearance on Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and appeared in Gold the follow-up drama series to Band of Gold as a young prostitute involved with Yardie gangsters who come over to Bradfords red light district from Leeds to clear up the Lane. In 1999, Eyo appeared with Goldie in the David Bowie film Everybody Loves Sunshine known as B.U.S.T.E.D., internationally. She also starred in the movie G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time.

However, Eyo's big break came in 1998 when she was offered the part of Denny Blood,{{cite web| url=http://www.badgirls.co.uk/characters/denny.html| title=Bad Girls characters – Denny Blood| accessdate=29 October 2010| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105201543/http://www.badgirls.co.uk/characters/denny.html| archivedate=5 November 2010| url-status=dead}} in Bad Girls.{{cite web|url=http://www.badgirls.co.uk |title=Bad Girls official site |publisher=badgirls.co.uk |accessdate=29 October 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111175121/http://www.badgirls.co.uk/ |archivedate=11 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web| url=http://larkhall.skyrock.com| title=Bad Girls site| publisher=larkhall.skyrock.com| accessdate=29 October 2010}} The series was broadcast in June the following year when the UK viewing public first saw Eyo as Denny Blood in a pink PVC suit dancing to the N-Trance remix of Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.

At the end of the sixth series (in which Eyo did not appear), the character of Denny Blood was voted the sixth favourite inmate on Bad Girls: Most Wanted.{{cite web| url=http://www.shedproductions.com/programmes/prog-bgmw.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005073407/http://www.shedproductions.com/programmes/prog-bgmw.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=5 October 2008| title=Shed Productions: We Know Drama – Bad Girls Most Wanted| publisher=shedproductions.com| accessdate=29 October 2010}} Denny's tragic upbringing, lead to the touching and tragic storylines with her mother, Jessie Devlin (played by Denise Black), and the relationship with stand-in mother Yvonne Atkins (Linda Henry). Blood also met the love of her life Shaz Wiley (Lindsey Fawcett), who died at the end of Series 4. Denny was devastated but found comfort in painting and was last seen being transferred to an open prison to serve the rest of her sentence. Just before Bad Girls was axed, the Bad Girls' creators were going to ask Eyo to reprise her role as Denny.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eightieskids.com/remember-cast-bad-girls-look-like-now/|title=Remember Shell Dockley From Bad Girls? This Is What She Looks Like Now!|date=2017-01-21|website=Eighties Kids|language=en|access-date=2020-04-13}}

During this time, Eyo also appeared in the film The Low Down, in an episode of Urban Gothic and in Tube Tales. Since leaving Bad Girls, Eyo appeared in Holby City twice, as two separate characters, and the BBC daytime drama Doctors. Eyo plays Gaynor Harvey in Shed Productions drama Bombshell. However, Bombshell still has not been shown in the UK, but has aired in New Zealand.

Eyo studied at the Court Theatre Training Company in London, graduating in 1996. Since her graduation Eyo has also performed at various theatres including the Royal Court Theatre, Theatre Royal (Nottingham), Theatre 503 and the Everyman (Liverpool). She also performed in the critically acclaimed play Any Which Way.{{cite web| url=http://www.lsda-acting.com/acting.html| title=Alicya Eyo – Acting for Camera| publisher=lsda-acting.com| accessdate=28 October 2010}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web| url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/blogs/offwestend/?p=685| title=Any Which Way review| publisher=whatsonstage.com| accessdate=28 October 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615181854/http://www.whatsonstage.com/blogs/offwestend/?p=685| archive-date=15 June 2011| url-status=dead}}

In October 2011, Eyo began appearing in Emmerdale as Ruby Haswell, the lesbian partner of Ali Spencer (Kelli Hollis). Eyo's role ended on 6 August 2015 when her character died in a helicopter crash.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/british-actress-alicya-eyo-coming-out-and-being-lesbian-role-model111012/|title=British actress Alicya Eyo on coming out and being a lesbian role model|last=Morgan|first=Joe|date=2012-10-11|website=Gay Star News|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-13|archive-date=13 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413062131/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/british-actress-alicya-eyo-coming-out-and-being-lesbian-role-model111012/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2011/07/29/bad-girls-and-shameless-stars-alicya-eyo-and-kelli-hollis-join-emmerdale-to-play-lesbian-couple-96411/|title=Bad Girls and Shameless stars join Emmerdale to play lesbian couple|date=2011-07-29|website=Metro|language=en|access-date=2020-04-13}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a27179005/alicya-eyo-clink-bad-girls/|title=Bad Girls star says her new prison drama Clink is "very different"|last=Jeffery|first=Morgan|date=2019-04-18|publisher=Digital Spy|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-13}}

Eyo is a pescatarian. She is a supporter and patron of The Proud Trust, an LGBT charity that provides services and support for young people.{{cite web|url=http://www.lgbtyouthnorthwest.org.uk/about/our-patrons/alicya-eyo/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404121321/http://www.lgbtyouthnorthwest.org.uk/about/our-patrons/alicya-eyo/|archivedate=4 April 2016|title=Alicya Eyo|publisher=The Proud Trust}}

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{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118211833/http://alicyaeyo.net/ Official Alicya Eyo Website]
• {{IMDb name|0264198}}

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Category:1975 births

Category:People from Huyton

Category:Living people

Category:English television actresses

Category:Actresses from Merseyside

Category:English soap opera actresses

Category:English stage actresses

Category:English film actresses

Category:English lesbian actresses

Category:English LGBTQ actors

Category:20th-century English LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century English LGBTQ people

Category:Actors from the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley