Alicya Eyo was born on the 16th of December 1975 in Huyton but grew grew up in Toxteth, Liverpool. Her mother, Sue, is a jazz singer and Alicya's love of drama started when she was nine, and she attended drama and dance classes every Saturday. When she was 14, she moved to London with her family and trained there at the Courtyard Theatre School. Alicya said: "I moved to London when I was 14, just before that I went to dance school on West Derby Road. We started drama classes and I found I loved that more than dancing." By 18 Alicya decided she wanted to go to drama school, saying: "I auditioned for a load of places, I got into a few but could not afford to go. I just went in blind to these auditions and they were paid drama courses. I didn't realise that." Her luck changed after the intervention of an actor who later became a Labour MP. Alicya said: "My mum wrote a letter to Glenda Jackson and I ended up getting a scholarship, as I couldn't afford to go to the ones I got in. She wrote to a drama school, she didn't pay for it, but got me the scholarship. I never got to thank her personally for that."
Aged 19, Alicya got her first professional role at London's Royal Court in 'Cockroach Who', by Jess Walters playing a 13 year old psychopath. Her first television appearance was in 1997 in 'Casualty' which had been filmed earlier and the same year made an appearance on 'Hetty Wainthropp Investigates' before appearing in 'Gold', the follow-up drama series to 'Band of Gold', as a young prostitute involved with Yardie gangsters who come over to Bradford's red light district from Leeds to clear up the Lane.
In 1998 she appeared with Goldie in the David Bowie film 'B.U.S.T.E.D.' and also starred in the movie 'G:MT- Greenwich Mean Time' (1999), but her big break came in when, in 1998 she was offered the part of Denny Blood in 'Bad Girls' (1999-2003). The series was broadcast in June the following year when the UK viewing public first saw her in a pink PVC suit dancing to the N-Trance remix of 'Stayin' Alive by the 'Bee Gees'.
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This portrayal of life in a women's prison, Larkhall Prison, focused on the inmates and staff's friendships and relationships, and the issues surrounding them. At the end of the sixth series (in which Alicya did not appear), the character of Denny Blood was voted the sixth favourite inmate on 'Bad Girls'. During this time she also appeared in the films 'Tube Tales' (1999), 'The Low Down' (2000) and in an episode of 'Urban Gothic' (2001). After leaving 'Bad Girls' she appeared in 'Holby City' (2004- 06) twice, as two separate characters in the BBC daytime drama 'Doctors' (2004-18), and in 7 episodes of the Shed Productions 'Bombshell' (2006), although this still has not been shown in the UK, but has aired in New Zealand.
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| as Ruby in Emmerdale |
Her next big break came in 'Emmerdale' (2011-15) as an openly lesbian character, with a strong mind, human emotions and an endearing personality, Ruby Haswell was to be a role model for viewers young and old, as was proven when Alicya was presented with the Stonewall UK award for 'Entertainer Of The Year'. Having 'come out' when she was younger Alicya commented, "it’s funny as the majority of the roles I have played were straight, heterosexual. Yet the roles I am most famous for as Denny in 'Bad Girls' and as Ruby in 'Emmerdale' are lesbian characters." Sadly Alicya found herself grappling with a series of challenges after leaving the show, including a relationship breakdown and a growing dependency on alcohol. She confessed: "In 2017 I got to a point in my life, having left 'Emmerdale', a relationship breakdown, I basically turned to alcohol, which wasn't great." The situation escalated until Alicya lost everything, including her sense of self. She checked into Transforming Choice in Liverpool, a rehab centre that she credits with saving her life. She encourages others to be open about their struggles and seek assistance with a heartfelt plea: "The thing is, people need to speak about it more. Get help, that's it, get help. I think people are maybe suffering now when they weren't before, so if you are suffering, please reach out."
Thankfully Alicya returned to our TV screens and found herself back in prison, this time as a Governor in the fictional women's prison, BPS Bridewell in 'Clink' (2019), then had a second appearances in 'Waterloo Road' (2023), as a different character and has lately been in 'The Gathering' (2024).
Having studied at the Court Theatre Training Company she has been working professionally for 14 years, performing at various theatres including the Royal Court Theatre, Nottingham. She also performed in the critically acclaimed play 'Any Which Way'. In 2023 she returned home to play an iconic role in Caryl Churchill's play in 'Top Girls' at the Everyman Theatre which had been revamped with a Toxteth setting for the 40th anniversary of the play.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/11/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-george.html
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