Martina Laird

Martina Laird (born 1971) is a Trinidadian British actress of stage, film and television.

Early life and education Martina Laird was born in 1971 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Her interest in drama began early, when she was seven years old, and from the age of 13 she studied with such local luminaries as Beryl McBurnie, and regularly attended performances at the Little Carib Theatre.

At the age of 17, Laird went to the United Kingdom, having won a national scholarship to study French at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and she did drama as part of her degree course. Having told her parents of her acting ambitions at the age of 20, on the advice of Derek Walcott, who was a family friend, Laird went on to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career After beginning her acting career on the stage, she landed a role in the BBC TV drama series Casualty, most memorably playing the character Comfort for several years. She also featured in other popular television series, including Holby City and EastEnders.

Among her notable stage credits are as Sophia in Errol John's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, directed by Michael Buffong, in a 2012 production at the Royal National Theatre, and Marcus Gardley's The House that Will Not Stand at the Tricycle Theatre (2014), directed by Indhu Rubasingham.

Laird performed in seven Shakespeare plays over two years in 2016 and 2017: The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Henry IV, Coriolanus, and All's Well That Ends Well.

In 2019, Laird appeared in the August Wilson play King Hedley II, alongside Lenny Henry, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

In October 2023, she featured in a revival of Mustapha Matura's play Meetings at the Orange Tree Theatre, directed by Kalungi Ssebandeke.

Laird made her writing debut with the play Driftwood, first produced in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2025–26 season at The Other Place. Described by writer and interdisiplinary researcher Desirée Baptiste as "brilliantly written", Driftwood went on to a further production at the Kiln Theatre.

Awards Laird has won a Screen Nation Award and a Michael Elliot Trust Award. Driftwood was the runner-up for the 2024 Verity Bargate Award.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1991 EastEnders Court Clerk Episode: 14th Jan 1993 Trial of Nick Cotton 1993 Harry Friend Series 1, Episode 5 1993–1999 The Bill Sandra Newton / Marlene Franklin / Marcia Walsh 3 episodes 1995 The Governor Zania 3 episodes One for the Road Ruth Episode: "Prague" 1995, 1999, 2001-2006, 2016 Casualty Pauline / Darleen Devern / Comfort Jones / Comfort Newton 207 episodes 1996 The Knock Nadine Charles Series 2, Episode 2 Thief Takers Ruth Episode: "Wasteland" Dangerfield WPC Episode: "Inside Out" 1998 Peak Practice Dr. Toray Jonathan Creek Bridget Episode: "Danse Macabre" 1999 Wing and a Prayer Dee Dee Bastiani 3 episodes 1999–2000 A Touch of Frost Miriam Madikane Episodes: "Line of Fire (Parts 1&2)" 1999–2005 Holby City Comfort Newton / Darleen Devern 3 episodes 2000, 2011 My Family Darci / Doctor Kelly 2003 Children in Need Comfort Series 1, Episode 4 2005 Casualty@Holby City Comfort Newton 5 episodes 2007 Deadmeat Detective Clayderman 2009 Free Agents Series 1, Episode 6 Monday Monday 2010 Shameless Michelle 2 episodes Missing Pamela Rutter Series 2, Episode 3 Doctors Kathy Nicholls Episode: "Like Mothers, Like Daughters" Forget Me Not Doctor 2011 Coronation Street Colette Hankinson Blitz Forensic Officer London's Burning Rachel TV movie 2013 Feds Coach McKenzie 2015 The Dumping Ground Mrs Underwood 2016 Jericho Epiphany 8 episodes EastEnders DC Angie Rice 8 episodes 2017 Padlock Natasha Short film 2017–2018 The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy Alonso / Worcester / Gadshill / Cassius 2019 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Claudia Farrel Great Performances Cassius The Bay (TV series) Bernie Chambers TV series 2020 Summerland Older Vera 2021 Boxing Day Janet Still We Thrive Short film 2023 Unforgotten Ebele Falade Series 5, episode 1 The Little Mermaid Lashana Dreamland Diane TV seriesA Pinch Of PortugalMarissaTV movie

Theatre The White Devil, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996 Three Hours After Marriage, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996–1997 Troilus and Cressida, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996–1997 Breath Boom, Royal Court Theatre, 2000 The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder, Royal National Theatre, 2007 Bianca in Othello, Donmar Warehouse, London, 2007–2008 Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Royal National Theatre, 2012 The House that Will Not Stand, Tricycle Theatre, 2014 All's Well That Ends Well, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 2018 Shebeen, Stratford East, 2018 King Hedley II, Stratford East, 2019 15 Heroines, Jermyn Street Theatre, 2020 Meetings, by Mustapha Matura, Orange Tree Theatre, 2023.