Laura Rollins

Laura Rollins (born 20 December 1988) is a British actress, known for portraying the role of Ayesha Lee on the BBC soap opera Doctors, a role which she played from 2014 to 2020. For her portrayal of Ayesha, she received an accolade at the RTS Midlands Awards. Since leaving Doctors, Rollins has appeared in various television series including Innocent and Miss Scarlet and The Duke.

Life and career Rollins was born on 20 December 1988. She began her acting training at the Custard Factory aged nine, after which she was offered a place at the Carlton Junior Television Workshop. Whilst attending, Rollins made her television debut on the children's series The Demon Headmaster in 1998, at the age of ten. She was also featured in various advertisements and performed at the British Academy Children's Awards.

In 1999, Rollins starred in Welcome To Orty Fou as Caroline Saunders. After leaving the workshop, Rollins began attending the University of Leeds, studying English and theatre. She then did a one-year course at Arts Educational Schools in London. 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. On 20 May 2020, it was announced that Rollins would be leaving Doctors after six years. Her final scenes aired on 5 June 2020.

Rollins starred in the 2016 short film From Noya, and the 2018 short film Shining Tor, for which she won Best Performance for at the 2019 Short Film Awards. In 2020, Rollins appeared in an episode of the BBC crime drama Silent Witness as Kate Langley. In 2021, she starred in the second series of the ITV drama Innocent. Then in 2022, she made appearances in Father Brown and Miss Scarlet and The Duke. 2025 saw Rollins appear in The Chelsea Detective, as well as star in Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood. A year later, she appeared in an episode of the BBC medical drama Casualty.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2013 Communion Anna 2016 From Noya Paige Short film 2018 Details to Follow Gaia Short film 2018 Shining Tor Amber Short film 2019 That Phone Call Willow Short film 2020 Fortune Cookie Natalie Short film 2021 There's Always Hope Sanya 2022 Broke Therapist Short film 2024 Hollow Farah Short film 2025 Sober Pamela 2025 Between the Piers Meghan Short film 2026 The House on Lidderman Street Hazel

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 The Demon Headmaster Game Show Winner 1 episode 1999 Welcome to Orty-Fou Caroline Saunders 4 episodes 2014–2020 Doctors Ayesha Lee Regular role 2018–2019 The Reserves Jamie Also executive producer 2020 Silent Witness Kate Langley Episode: "Hope: Part 1" 2021 Innocent DS Suzy Jones Main role 2022 Father Brown Helen Delaney Episode: "The Wayward Girls" 2022 Miss Scarlet and The Duke Clementine Recurring role 2023 Death in Paradise Cheryl Horner Episode: "#12.3" 2023 Champion Mercedes Episode: "Rise of the Phoenix" 2023 The Good Ship Murder Courtney Campbell Episode: "Malta" 2025 The Chelsea Detective Zoe Parrish Episode: "For the Greater Good" 2025 Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood Annabel Main role 2026 Casualty Iona Hodgins 1 episode

Audio Year Title Role Notes 2020 The Archers Midwife / Lauren 2 episodes 2023 Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures Cath Episode: "The Colour of Terror" 2023 Star Cops Anya Selby Episode: "Grandma's Footsteps" 2025 Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures Umbriel Episode: "The Living Darkness"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2015 Screen Nation Female Performance in TV Doctors 2016 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors 2018 National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance Doctors 2018 British Soap Awards Best Female Dramatic Performance Doctors 2018 RTS Midlands Awards Acting Performance – Female Doctors 2018 Inside Soap Awards Best Daytime Star Doctors 2019 British Soap Awards Best Actress Doctors 2019 Short Film Awards Best Performance Shining Tor