Andrea Chizoba "Chizzy" Akudolu (born 7 October 1973) is a British actress.
Career In 2002, Akudolu was one of eight new comedy performers who won the BBC Talent Initiative, The Urban Sketch Showcase. All eight performed a comedy sketch show in front of BBC casting directors and producers at the Tabernacle Theatre in Notting Hill. Her first television appearance was in the BBC sitcom 15 Storeys High. This was followed by a small role in EastEnders. She continued to work for the BBC in her first children's series called Stupid! and Roman's Empire. Credits also include Green Wing and Dustbin Baby for Kindle Entertainment and as a caricature of herself in the mockumentary The Most Unromantic Man in the World. Akudolu also played series regular Miss Kanouti in The Complete Guide to Parenting. She has continued to work for CBBC in programmes such as Nuzzle and Scratch, Scoop and Gigglebiz.
In 2007, she toured with The Vagina Monologues for three months. In 2008, Akudolu played the housemate, Angel, in Dead Set, a zombie parody of Big Brother. In 2009, she had a guest role in Hollyoaks Later and starred in the CBBC show Jinx in the lead role as the unconventional Fairy Godmother, Cookie. In 2010 Akudolu appeared in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Twenty Twelve, The Inbetweeners, and as a semi-regular in the Channel 4 comedy Campus.
Since May 2012, Akudolu has played the role of the surgeon Mo Effanga in Holby City. In 2017, it was announced that Akudolu was departing Holby City after five years. She was nominated and won the award for "Best Newcomer" at the Black International Film Festival and Music Video & Screen Awards. She has also won the Best Actress in the same year at BEFFTA Awards. She was nominated for the "Emerging Talent" award at the 8th Annual Screen Nation Awards.
In 2017, Akudolu took part in Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief with a duo from Casualty. The trio performed "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars and came second place. In 2017, she took part in the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One. She was the first celebrity to be eliminated after losing the dance-off to Brian Conley and Amy Dowden. Later that same year, Akudolu took part in The Weakest Link one-off celebrity episode for Children in Need. She was the strongest link in five out of the six rounds, and beat Rylan Clark-Neal in the final round to win, earning £1,130 for Children in Need, which the programme doubled.
2018 saw Akudolu compete on Richard Osman's House of Games, televised on BBC Two, alongside Tom Allen, Charlie Higson, and Kate Williams. Having won one of the episodes in her week, she returned for a House of Champions special along with Miles Jupp, Amol Rajan and Ellie Taylor, broadcast in 2020.
In January 2019, Akudolu played Butterfly Brown in Death in Paradise.
In 2022, Akudolu competed in Celebrity Hunted for Stand up to Cancer. She was caught third in the series, with her teammate Lisa Maffia caught shortly after her. She also made a guest appearance in ITV's sitcom Kate and Koji as Lisa.
In 2025, Akudolu was one of the judges of the 'Published Novel' category of the Comedy Women in Print Prize.
Personal life She has a brown belt in karate and is an experienced calligrapher. Her mother was a midwife. Her younger sister, Nneka Akudolu, is a lawyer and a King's Counsel.
Filmography Year Show Role Notes200415 Storeys High Melinda Episode: "Vince the Shirker" EastEnders Mattie George 1 episode Stupid! Various Series regular2006 Green Wing Car Parking Attendant 1 episode The Complete Guide to Parenting Miss Kanouti Series regular 2007 Roman's Empire Mummy 1 episode2008 Nuzzle and Scratch Whippety Whips Lady Episode: "Ice Cream Van" Dead Set Angel Series regular Dustbin Baby Railway Woman Television film2009 In the Loop U.N Cleaner Film Agent X Alice Television film Hollyoaks Later Receptionist Jinx Cookie Series regular Gigglebiz Various Series regular2010 The Inbetweeners Maggie Episode: "Will's Dilemma" The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret Shopper2011 Twenty Twelve Jane Owen Campus Grace 2 Series regular Scoop Lorraine Episode: "Northenders" Mongrels Office Worker Episode: "Nelson and the Amazing Nuts" 2012 Silent Witness Nurse Episode: "And Then I Fell in Love" 2012–2017,2018, 2022 Holby City Mo Effanga Series regular 2015 5 Minutes Denise 2016 Hood Documentary Julie 2016, 2020– Sorry, I Didn't Know Panelist 10 episodes2017 Let's Sing and Dance for Comic ReliefHerself Strictly Come Dancing Series 15 2017, 2022 The Weakest Link Children in Need special (2017) 2018 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Sandra Kingly Episode: "The Chameleon's Dish" Celebrity MasterChefHerself Eliminated Impossible Celebrities 2018–2019 Loose Women Panellist (20 episodes) 2018, 2020 Richard Osman's House of Games 2019 Death in Paradise Butterfly Brown Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star Herself Guest star Hetty Feather Mrs. Doughty Christmas special 2020 County Lines Sophie Hapless June Brady Chef vs Cornershop Host (5 episodes)2021 Too Close The Squeak Creating A Scene Presenter2022 Celebrity Hunted Herself / Fugitive Caught 3rd in the series Kate and Koji Lisa Episode: "Koji's Date" Man vs. Bee Judge 2 episodes2023Pointless CelebritiesContestantSeries 16, episode 8 Best Interests Mercy 4 episodes2023Blankety BlankCelebrity 2024Beyond Paradise Reverend Kate series 2, two episodes. 2024 Criminal Record Jasmine Peters 3 episodes 2025 Beyond Paradise Reverend Kate Series 3, episode
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