Velile Tshabalala is an English actress, known for portraying Kareesha Lopez in ''

Kerching! ''Kerching!'' is a British television children's comedy series which aired on the CBBC Channel CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operate ...

'' and Rosita in the 2008 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' special "

The Next Doctor "The Next Doctor" is a special episode of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', broadcast on 25 December 2008 as the fourth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special of the revived series. During its original airing, the episod ...

Background

Born in

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Tshabalala was raised in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

. She is of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an descent. Her father is a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and her mother is a

health visitor Health visitors are professional individuals engaged in public health work within the domestic setting, predominantly found in countries with state-funded health systems. They are distinct from district nurses, who provide clinical healthcare, do ...

. She has one sister and two brothers. She trained at 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 19 ...

, where she attended weekend classes from the age of 14. For higher education, she attended

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

and completed her

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

Career

Tshabalala made her professional debut at the age of 18, in the

CBBC CBBC 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 brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

''. She played waitress Kareesha Lopez, who did very little work and was a stereotypical teenage girl. She played several roles in all three series of the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

Tittybangbang ''Tittybangbang'' is a female-led BBC television sketch comedy show, featuring Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen. It ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their comp ...

''. She appeared as a prostitute in the 2004 short film ''Streets''. In January 2008, she played a librarian in the ''

ChuckleVision ''ChuckleVision'' is a British children's comedy television series created by Martin Hughes and the Chuckle Brothers for the BBC. It starred Barry and Paul Elliott as the Chuckle Brothers and occasionally their older brothers, Jimmy, and Bria ...

'' episode "Jumping Jackpot". She played Rosita in that year's ''

'' Christmas special "

". She made her

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

debut in the 2008 production of ''

Dick Whittington's Cat ''Dick Whittington and His Cat'' is the English folklore surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington ( 1354 – 1423), wealthy merchant and later Lord Mayor of London. The legend describes his rise from poverty-stricken childhood with the for ...

'' at the Compass Theatre in

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britai ...

. In 2011, Tshabalala very briefly appeared in the penultimate episode of series three of the E4 series ''

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

'' as the gangs' newest probation worker, Laura. However, she only lasted for a matter of seconds after arriving at the community centre, ultimately being killed after being bitten by a zombie. In July 2014, she completed filming on the feature film ''The Journey''. In November 2021, it was announced that Tshabalala had been cast 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 Viv, the mother of established character

DeMarcus Westwood ''Hollyoaks'' is a British television soap opera that was first broadcast on 23 October 1995. The following is a list of characters that first appear in the show in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's e ...

(Tomi Ade). In February 2022, she starred as Gloria in ''Running with Lions'' at the Lyric Theatre, London. In 2024, Tshabalala began appearing as recurring character Stella Clayton in

Eastenders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

. Her day job is currently at the St Marylebone Bridge School working as a teaching assistant.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tshabalala, Velile 1984 births Living people 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Redbridge Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Actresses from London Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Black British actresses English people of Zimbabwean descent English television actresses People from Ilford People from Whitechapel