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 and, to date, only actor in a leading role in an official Doctor Who production to achieve such an honour after appearing in Doctor Who. Her other credits include the TV series Criminal Justice and the science fiction film Aeon Flux.

In February it was announced that Okonedo will appear in the Series 5 episode DW: The Beast Below.