Rachel Adedeji is a Nigerian-British singer and actress. She became the fourth contestant eliminated on sixth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in 2009, having previously appeared on the fifth series. From 2016 to 2020, she appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' as Lisa Loveday. She was referenced as one of the greatest "UK Queens of Pop" on Rupaul's Drag Race UK Series 6, Episode 7 Rusical "Pop of the Tops".

Career

Adedeji began her career as a singer, beginning singing at the age of eight, later studying

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

in college. She performed in many musical productions and had a role in the musical ''

Mamma Mia! Mamma mia (; an Italian interjection, literally "mommy mine"), Mammamia, Mamamia or Mumma Mia may refer to: Music Works associated with ABBA * "Mamma Mia" (ABBA song), a 1975 ABBA song * ''Mamma Mia!'' (musical), a stage play based on ABBA s ...

''. In 2008, Adedeji entered the fifth series of ''

'', where she made it to bootcamp. Adedeji later returned to the programme for the sixth series, where she became the fourth contestant eliminated. On 21 March 2016, it was announced that Adedeji had joined the

soap opera ''

'' as Lisa Loveday, the long-lost daughter of

Simone Loveday ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the serial in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by executive pr ...

(

Jacqueline Boatswain Jacqueline Boatswain (sometimes credited as Jacqui Boatswain) is an English actress of Vincentian origin. Career She is best known for playing headmistress Mrs Bassinger in the long-running BBC school drama, ''Grange Hill'', from 2003–200 ...

) and Louis Loveday (

Karl Collins Karl Collins is a British actor. He is known for his television roles as Danny Glaze in ''The Bill'', Louis Loveday in ''Hollyoaks'', and Shaun Temple in ''Doctor Who''. He played Noah in the Apple TV series Trying, Lennox in the BBC Series Cham ...

). She made her on-screen debut in April 2016. For her performance as Lisa, she was longlisted for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and hav ...

in 2017. On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Adedeji was expecting her first child and would take maternity leave. Her return to the programme aired on 13 November 2018. In June 2020, it was announced that Adedeji had quit the programme, with her final scenes airing later in the year. In October 2021, Adedeji portrayed the role of April Lewin in an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''.

Filmography

Personal life

In 2015, Adedeji married Jason Finnegan; she announced she was pregnant with the pair's first child in 2017, taking maternity leave from ''Hollyoaks''. In 2020, Adedeji took to social media to open up about racism she has encountered while working on ''Hollyoaks''. She stated she was told "You're all the same" by a make-up artist, and said that black actresses on ''Hollyoaks'' were "forced to drastically change their hair" after being told viewers wouldn't be able to tell them apart, and that in her four years on the soap, she had only worked with one black director. She added: "Working at ''Hollyoaks'' is mostly positive, but the experiences I have encountered are a constant reminder of how difficult it is being a black woman in the industry. I am no longer standing for it." A few days later, the soap launched an investigation into her claims, with producers stating that they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by the issues that she had addressed. The investigation included a multi-step action plan to root out any further instances of racism.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adedeji, Rachel Living people 21st-century Black British women singers Actors from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Black British actresses English people of Nigerian descent English soap opera actresses English women pop singers People from Barking, London Singers from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Year of birth missing (living people)