Molly Anne Rainford (born 22 November 2000) is an English singer, actress and television presenter. She was a finalist on the sixth series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' in 2012 and was one of the presenters on ''

Friday Download ''Friday Download'' was a British children's entertainment television programme, produced by Saltbeef Productions on CBBC. It premiered on 6 May 2011. The final presenting team consisted of Molly Rainford, Anaïs Gallagher, Harvey Cantwell, ...

'' between 2014 and 2015. She has since released two

extended plays An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

and has gone on to portray the titular character in the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

comedy drama series '' Nova Jones'' from 2021 onwards. In 2022, Rainford competed in the twentieth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''; she reached the final and finished as a runner-up. Then in 2023, she was cast in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''.

Life and career

Early life and ''Britain's Got Talent''

Rainford was born on 22 November 2000 in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...

. Her father is former

Chelmsford City F.C. Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

midfielder and assistant manager

Dave Rainford David John Rainford (born 21 April 1979) is an English former footballer. He now works for the Premier League. Rainford left Dagenham & Redbridge at the end of the 2007–08 season after he was offered a senior teaching role at a local schoo ...

. She attended the

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 1 ...

and later

East London Arts & Music East London Arts & Music (also known as ELAM) is a free school sixth form located in Bromley-by-Bow in East London, England. History Established in 2014, ELAM is for students aged 16 to 19 who wish to pursue a career in music, games design or f ...

. In 2012, at the age of 11, she auditioned for the sixth series of ''

'', singing her own version of

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisi ...

's " One Night Only" from the film ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and other ...

''. She advanced to the semi-final stages where she sang "

It Must Have Been Love "It Must Have Been Love", originally "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", is a song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The power ballad became the duo's third number one hit in the United ...

" by

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second ...

; Rainford made it through to the final after finishing second in the public vote. In the final, she sang Beyoncé's version of "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Ann ...

" and finished the competition in sixth place. Following the show, she was signed to

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Television and music career

In 2014, Rainford joined the presenting team on the

children's entertainment series ''

'' alongside Akai Osei and Bars and Melody, appearing as a presenter on the eighth and ninth series until the show's cancellation in 2015. In 2016, she appeared in an episode of CBBC's '' Millie Inbetween'' as Chloe. In 2021, Rainford began starring in the CBBC comedy drama '' Nova Jones'', portraying the titular character, with the series focusing on the life and adventures of a galactic pop singer. The series was subsequently renewed for a second and third series. In 2019, she released her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Commitment'', which featured the songs "I Like You", "Long Run", "Forever and a Day", "How Many Times" and the titular single "Commitment", which has amassed over two million streams online. In 2020, she released a second EP, ''Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'', which featured covers of Christmas songs including "

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reach ...

", " Who Would Imagine a King", "

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly ...

" and the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

. In 2022, Rainford was announced as a contestant on the twentieth series of ''

''. Partnered with Carlos Gu, the pair reached the final where they performed finished as a runner-up. Shortly after Rainford completed her run in the ''Strictly Come Dancing'' national tour in 2023, it was announced that she had been cast on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Her character is set to be a daughter in a family introduced as new owners of the fictional Queen Vic pub.

Filmography

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainford, Molly 2000 births 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English singers Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Britain's Got Talent contestants British children's television presenters English child actresses English child singers English soap opera actresses English television actresses English television presenters Living people Participants in British reality television series People from the London Borough of Havering