Petra Letang
{{Short description|British actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Petra Letang
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1979|05|04}}
| birth_place = Plaistow, London, England
| birth_name =
| years_active =
| occupation = Actress
| children = 2
}}
Petra Letang (born 4 May 1979) is a British actress. She played Naomi Julien in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2005–2007) and Adele Effanga in Holby City (2014–2016).
Early life
Letang is from Plaistow, East London. She is of Dominican descent.{{Cite web|url=https://qvoice.co.uk/voice-artists/index.php?profile=petra-letang|title=Petra Letang|website=QVoice|accessdate=30 May 2023}} She took acting classes at the Anna Scher Theatre school in Islington.
Career
Letang played Donna Lewis in the Channel 5 soap Family Affairs in 1999, and the character Pauline in the BBC2 drama Babyfather in 2002. Other television credits have included Jonathan Creek (2004), The Bill (2005) and The Last Detective (2005). She also appeared in the British film Wondrous Oblivion in 2003.
In 2005, Letang was cast as Naomi Julien — the lesbian lover of Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) — in BBC's EastEnders. She left the role in 2007, reportedly because scriptwriters had "run out of ideas for her".{{cite news|url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/tv/tvland/2007/01/19/letangoed-89520-18500094/|title= LETANGOED!|newspaper=The Mirror | author = Nicola Methven And Polly Hudson | date = 2007-01-19| accessdate=2007-09-10}} Prior to this, Letang had gone public with her fears that her character would be axed following a "bad public reaction" to the lesbian storyline that saw Naomi break up the marriage of Sonia and Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou).{{cite news|url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2006/04/24/naomi-s-axe-fear-89520-16984599/|title= NAOMI'S AXE FEAR|newspaper=The Mirror | date = 2006-04-24| accessdate=2007-09-10}}
Letang went on to join the cast of Angie Le Mar's successful play, Funny Black Women On the Edge.{{cite news|url= http://www.blacknet.co.uk/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,99999999/extmode,view/extid,56/recurdate,1188712800.html|title= ANGIE LE MAR: FUNNY BLACK WOMEN ON THE EDGE|publisher= blacknet.co.uk|accessdate= 2007-09-10}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} It played at the Hackney Empire, East London, in the spring of 2007.{{cite news|url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/3am/2007/03/22/life-after-enders-for-petra-89520-18789687/|title= LIFE AFTER ENDERS FOR PETRA|publisher=The Mirror| accessdate=2007-09-10}}
In March 2007, Letang was one of several television stars who took part in Searchlight magazine's "Hope Not Hate bus" campaign with the Daily Mirror, which was aimed at spreading a message of goodwill in the build-up to the local elections in May 2007. Letang commented: "This campaign is very close to my heart. We have to make a difference for the young people coming up."{{cite news|url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/03/26/bill-aboard-89520-18809144/|title= BILL ABOARD!|publisher=The Mirror| accessdate=2007-09-10}}
Letang starred in Jason Barrett's film The Naked Poet in 2011, in which she played the lead female role Simone and gave what was described as a "stand out performance".[http://scenetv.co.uk/scene-profiles-the-naked-poet-a-film-by-jason-barrett/ Scene Profiles| The Naked Poet – a Film by Jason Barrett, Scene TV.] She was also credited as both producer and one of the executive producers.
In 2013, Letang was cast in Holby City as healthcare assistant Adele Effanga. She is introduced as the sister of Mo Effanga (Chizzy Akudolu) and made her first appearance in January 2014.
Personal life
As of 2015, Letang lived in Essex. She has a daughter.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.express.co.uk/lifestyle/style/550167/Holby-City-actress-Petra-Letang-talks-fashion?|title=In the closet with actress Petra Letang|journal=Daily Express|first=Tricia|last=Welch|date=4 January 2015|accessdate=31 May 2023}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Wondrous Oblivion | Loretta Samuel | |
| 2009 | Normal: The Düsseldorf Ripper | Nurse Ann | |
| 2012 | Betsy & Leonard | Aisha | |
| 2016 | The Naked Poet | Simone | Also executive producer |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Family Affairs | Donna Lewis | |
| 2002 | Babyfather | Pauline | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Jonathan Creek | Jessica | Episode: "The Chequered Box" |
| 2005 | The Bill | Charlene Gayle | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | The Last Detective | Kayleigh | Episode: "Friends Reunited" |
| 2005–2007 | EastEnders | Naomi Julien | 108 episodes |
| 2013 | Badults | Security Guard | Episode: "Film" |
| 2014–2016 | Holby City | Adele Effanga | 90 episodes |
| 2016 | People Just Do Nothing | Tia | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Little Boy Blue | Protection Officer | Episode: "Episode #1.4" |
| 2022
|Death In Paradise |Mia Taylor |Series 11, Episode 1 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Twitter|PetraLetang}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0504593|name=Petra Letang}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letang, Petra}}
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School
Category:Black British actresses
Category:English film actresses
Category:English people of Dominica descent
Category:English soap opera actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Newham