7 Black British TV Babes

Susan Wokoma

You may know her as:

1. The God fearing, bible verse quoting Cynthia (Chewing Gum).
2. The crime fighting, ball busting Mabel (Year of The Rabbit)

Why I love Susan: Listen, Susan is booked and busy and will continue be because she delivers every single time. She does not miss! All you have to do is take a glance at her Instagram to reveal win after win with a side serving of loveable humility.

Zawe Ashton

You may know her as:

1. The wildly inappropriate but strangley charming Vod (Fresh Meat).
2. The effortlessly sexy but relatably awkward Claire (Wanderlust).

Why I love Zawe: The range darling, the range! She’s essentially a human chameleon. Her talents do not stop at acting, I fell head over heels in love with Zawe this year after reading her book Character Breakdown, a must read!

Josie D’arby

You may know her as:

The face of children’s entertainment in the 90s and early 00s, spotted on everything from SMart to Top of the Pops, she was everywhere!

Why I love Josie: in 1999 she became the youngest woman to host her on chat show: Josie. That’s a huge accolade for anyone, let alone a black woman. Josie made little girls like me feel like we had a place on TV.

Michaela Cole

You may know her as:

1. The straight talking fizzing ball of loveable chaotic energy, Arabella (I May Destroy You).
2. The goofy Beyonce loving cringe magnet Tracy (Chewing Gum).

Why I love Michaela: much like 80% of the British population, watching I May Destroy You was without doubt a lockdown highlight. Later, finding out that Michaela created, wrote, co-directed, executive produced and of course starred in the series cemented her a serious icon.

Lolly Adefope

You may know her as:

1. The hilarious and irritatingly cool one liner queen Fran (Shrill).
2. The oh so positive and ridiculously cute Kitty (Ghosts).

Why I love Lolly: One day she’s bussing genuinely funny jokes on a panel show, the next she’s stealing the show in a TV series. If you need proof of her funny bones follow her on Twitter asap. Plus, she really p*ssed off a bunch of gammons online after an entirely innocuous joke about an all white all male comedy line up and that will always bring me joy.

Angelica Bell

You may know her as:

1. A regular beaming ray of sunshine on some of your childhood favourites such as 50/50.
2. Maybe you’ve had the joy of meeting grown up Angelica on The One Show or The Big Family Cooking Show.

Why I love Angelica: I used to to feel giddy with excitement whenever she popped up on CBBC, she was just so radiant and energetic. Also, she ended up marrying Michael Underwood another CBBC legend. Plus, am I the only one that remembers that shot for FMH… corrrrr.

Antonia Thomas

You may know her as:

1. The fit and feisty fire cracker Alisha (Misfits).
2. The well meaning but sarcastic pocket rocket Evie (Lovesick).

Why I love Antonia: Watching Alisha strut through every episode of Misfits in an iconic combination of ballet pumps, waist cinching belts and an orange jumpsuit really did something to me. She was everything my self-conscious and utterly unsexy teenage self wanted to be.