Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo (born 1st January 1969) is a London-born actress who in 2003 provided the voice of Alison Cheney, companion to the "Shalka Doctor" in the 2003 BBC animated webcast serial, Scream of the Shalka. Okonedo likely would have continued to play Alison in future webcasts, had the announcement of BBC Wales' revival of the television not closed the book on further productions of this type.

Okonedo went on to appear in the film Hotel Rwanda, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first actress in a leading role in an official Doctor Who production to achieve such an honour after appearing in Doctor Who. In 2010, Carey Mulligan became the only other actress to date to receive such an honour when she received the BAFTA for Best Actress for her role in "An Education" after having portrayed Sally Sparrow in 2007s "Blink". Her other credits include the TV series Criminal Justice and the science fiction film Aeon Flux.

In February 2010 it was announced that Okonedo will portray the Masked Woman in the Series 5 episode DW: The Beast Below. The "Masked Woman" was in fact Elizabeth the Tenth, Queen of Starship UK.