Ayola is an advocate of increased ethnic representation in the entertainment industry , and in 2001 founded her own production company , producing the short film Persephone 's Playground for the Cannes film festival in order to further her campaign . In 2006 , Ayola was shortlisted for the ' Female Performance in TV ' award in the Screen Nation Awards , receiving Honourable Mention in the same category in 2007 , and a further shortlisted nomination in 2008 . She is married to fellow actor Adam Smethurst , with whom she has two daughters .