Ayola 's first film appearance was in the 1993 film Great Moments in Aviation , written by Jeanette Winterson , in which she starred alongside Jonathan Pryce and John Hurt . Variety magazine 's David Rooney said of her performance : " In the film 's most naturalistic turn , Ayola is a constant pleasure to watch . Unforced and appealing , she often succeeds in pulling the fanciful fireworks momentarily back down to Earth . " Ayola recalls having been daunted at the prospect of working alongside so many established names , but has deemed it to have been a " wonderful experience " . Her subsequent film credits are romantic comedy The Secret Laughter of Women , set in Nigeria and starring Colin Firth , thriller The i Inside , filmed in Sully Hospital , Cardiff , and starring Ryan Phillippe , and Sahara , filmed in Morocco whilst Ayola was pregnant with her first child , starring Penélope Cruz . Ayola says of her film career : " I really like doing film [ but ] I 've not done enough big films though to really know the difference between film and television . "