Alicya Eyo

Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975, Huyton, Liverpool) is a British theatre, film and television actress, best known for playing Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera, Emmerdale and, previously, for playing Denny Blood in the prison drama series Bad Girls.

Eyo was brought up in Toxteth, Liverpool. When she was fourteen, she moved to London. Eyo’s love of drama started when she was nine. She attended classes every Saturday, with dancing. She did her drama training in King's Cross, at the Courtyard Theatre School.

Eyo's first television appearance was in 1997, in Casualty, which was filmed earlier. She also made an appearance on Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and appeared in Gold the follow up drama series to Band Of Gold as a young prostitute involved with Yardie gangsters who come over to Bradfords red light district from Leeds to clear up the Lane. In 1999, Eyo appeared with Goldie in the David Bowie film Everybody Loves Sunshine known as B.U.S.T.E.D., internationally. She also starred in the movie G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time. However, Eyo's big break came in 1998 when she was offered the part of Denny Blood, in Bad Girls. The series was broadcast in June the following year when the UK viewing public first saw Eyo as Denny Blood in a pink PVC suit dancing to the N-Trance remix of Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees. Her agent told her that the production company, Shed, were looking for a 'shit, young, black, skinhead, tattoos with piercing'.

Bad Girls

At the end of the sixth series (in which Eyo did not appear), the character of Denny Blood was voted the sixth favourite inmate on Bad Girls: Most Wanted. Denny’s tragic upbringing, lead to the touching and tragic storylines with her mother, Jessie Devlin (played by Denise Black), and the relationship with stand-in mother Yvonne Atkins (Linda Henry). Eyo also met the love of her life Shaz Wiley (Lindsey Fawcett), who died at the end of Series 4. Denny was devastated but found comfort in painting and was last seen being transferred to an open prison to serve the rest of her sentence. Just before Bad Girls was axed, the Bad Girls' creators were going to ask Eyo to reprise her role as Denny.

During this time, Eyo also appeared in the film The Low Down, in an episode of Urban Gothic and in Tube Tales.

Since leaving Bad Girls, Eyo appeared in Holby City twice, as two separate characters, and the BBC daytime drama Doctors. Eyo plays Gaynor Harvey in Shed Productions drama Bombshell. However, Bombshell still has not been shown in the UK, but has aired in New Zealand.

Theatre

Eyo has studied at the Court Theater Training Company and has been working professionally for 14 years. Eyo has also performed at various theatres including the Royal Court Theatre, Nothingham. She also performed in the critically acclaimed play Any Which Way.

Emmerdale

Since October 2011, Eyo appears in Emmerdale as Ruby Haswell, the lesbian partner of Ali Spencer (Kelli Hollis). Eyo's role in Emmerdale ended on 6 August 2015 when her character died as a result of a helicopter crash.

Eyo is a vegetarian. She described her mother, Sue, as "amazing" and says that she is her idol. "My mum is a wicked singer, I’ve rapped and done some backing vocals for her. She’s a jazz singer and she’s top. If I’m in Liverpool, I sometimes gig with her". Karen, Eyo's aunt and Sue's sister and have appeared as Eyo's mother and aunt in an episode she starred in on Moving On.

Eyo is a supporter and patron of The Proud Trust, a north-west LGBT charity that provides services and support for young people.