Laura Aikman has been working on British screens since she was ten years old. In the three decades since, she has moved from child roles in period films to a lead in a children’s fantasy series, into a run of sitcoms and dramas, and — in the part of her career that almost never gets counted — into one of the busiest voice-acting CVs in British video games.
This page lists every one of those credits: her films, her television roles, her video game work and her audio dramas, each with the year and the character name. Where a role is worth explaining, we explain it. Where a fact is commonly repeated online but not actually confirmed, we say so rather than repeating it.
Laura Aikman: quick facts
| Full name | Laura Holly Aikman |
| Born | 24 December 1985, London Borough of Brent, London |
| Raised | Northwood, Hertfordshire |
| Education | Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls, Elstree |
| Parents | Stuart Aikman (stunt performer and director, known professionally as Stuart St Paul) and actress Jean Heard |
| Spouse | Actor Matt Kennard (married 2019) |
| Years active | 1996 to present |
| Screen debut | Surviving Picasso (1996), aged 10 |
| Best known for | The Mysti Show, Casualty, The Job Lot, Gavin & Stacey, Scrapper |
| Voice work | Lyse in Final Fantasy XIV, Jade in Dragon Quest XI, Eloise in Final Fantasy XVI |
| Total screen credits | 23 films, 45+ television productions, 19 video games, 10 audio dramas |
Laura Aikman movies: the complete film list
Aikman’s film work splits into two distinct phases. Between 1996 and 1999 she appeared as a child in four features, including two literary adaptations. After a six-year gap she returned as an adult, and since then has alternated between broad studio comedies and small independent films — with an unusually high number of shorts, which is where a lot of her more interesting character work sits.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Surviving Picasso | Maya Widmaier-Picasso | Merchant Ivory biographical drama; her screen debut |
| 1997 | The Usual Children | Hela | |
| 1998 | The Scarlet Tunic | Dotty Marlowe | Thomas Hardy adaptation |
| 1999 | Great Expectations | Young Biddy | Dickens adaptation |
| 1999 | Virtual Sexuality | Lucy Parker | British teen comedy |
| 2005 | Rude Awakenings | Ally | Short film |
| 2007 | Popcorn | Jeannie | Coming-of-age comedy drama |
| 2007 | Blood Monkey | Sydney Maas | Creature horror, direct-to-video |
| 2008 | The Trevor Ending Story | Sally | Short film |
| 2010 | Freight | Julie Taylor | British crime thriller |
| 2011 | Six Degrees | Student Girl | Short film |
| 2012 | Keith Lemon: The Film | Rosie | |
| 2013 | Bula Quo! | Caroline | Also released as Guitars, Guns and Paradise! |
| 2014 | Cancer Hair | Claire | Short film |
| 2015 | Amar Akbar & Tony | Samantha | |
| 2016 | The Hatching | Lucy | Horror comedy |
| 2017 | Lady M | Chloe | Short film |
| 2020 | Settlers | Sam | Short film |
| 2021 | Milk | Lydia | Short film |
| 2021 | @ | Natalie | Short film |
| 2022 | This Is Christmas | Polly | Sky Original romantic comedy |
| 2023 | Scrapper | Kaye | Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner |
| 2024 | Time Travel Is Dangerous | Young Valerie |
The films worth knowing about
Surviving Picasso (1996) put her on a Merchant Ivory set opposite Anthony Hopkins at the age of ten, playing Picasso’s daughter Maya. It is a small part, but it is an unusually serious first job, and it set the pattern for a childhood spent on professional film sets rather than in stage school showcases.
Virtual Sexuality (1999) is the one most people of a certain age remember. A late-nineties British teen comedy with a body-swap premise, it gave her a proper supporting role as Lucy Parker and considerably more screen time than her earlier period work.
Blood Monkey (2007) is the outlier — a low-budget creature feature shot in Thailand for the Maneater horror series, with Aikman as Sydney Maas among a group of anthropology students. It is the only straight horror lead of her career and rarely appears in profiles of her.
Keith Lemon: The Film (2012) and Bula Quo! (2013) came back to back and both trade on broad comedy. The Keith Lemon film followed directly from her television work with Leigh Francis; Bula Quo! is the Status Quo action-comedy shot in Fiji, in which she plays Caroline.
Scrapper (2023) is the most critically significant film on the list. Charlotte Regan’s debut won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Dramatic at Sundance, and Aikman appears as Kaye. It is the credit that repositioned her from familiar sitcom face to a name attached to award-winning independent cinema.
Laura Aikman TV shows: the complete television list
Television is where the bulk of her career lives. The list below covers main-cast roles, recurring parts, single-episode guest appearances, television films and animated voice roles, in order of first broadcast.
| Year | Programme | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Casualty | Rebecca Bright | Episode: “Choked: Part One” |
| 2004 | Doctors | Katy Harding | Episode: “Inner Circles” |
| 2004 | Tracy Beaker: Parties with Pudsey | Mysti | TV special |
| 2004–2005 | The Mysti Show | Mysti | Title role |
| 2006 | The Best Man | Alison Poley | TV film |
| 2007 | Trial & Retribution | Kelly Hobson | Episode: “Closure” |
| 2007 | The Bill | Tanya Murphy | Episode: “Copy Cat Killer” |
| 2008 | Teenage Kicks | Milly Heath | Main cast |
| 2008 | Dis/Connected | Paula | TV film |
| 2008, 2009 | That Mitchell and Webb Look | Various | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Demons | Alice | Episode: “Smitten” |
| 2009 | FM | Sky | Episode: “Blinded by the Light” |
| 2009 | Personal Affairs | Lucy Baxter | Main cast, BBC Three |
| 2009–2010 | Casualty | May Phelps | Main cast, series 24 (35 episodes) |
| 2010 | The Adventures of Daniel | Suzie | TV film |
| 2010 | Rules of Love | Receptionist | TV film |
| 2010 | Identity | Olivia Knighton | Episode: “Chelsea Girl” |
| 2010 | Jack Taylor | Kelly | Episode: “Purgatory” |
| 2011 | Not Going Out | Debbie | Episode: “Debbie” |
| 2012–2013 | Lemon La Vida Loca | Rosie Parker | Main cast series 1; guest series 2 |
| 2012–2014 | 4 O’Clock Club | Mrs Melanie Poppy | Main cast series 1–2; guest series 3 |
| 2013 | Pramface | Jenny | Episode: “Stay at Home Losers” |
| 2013 | Way to Go | Julia | Main cast |
| 2013 | My Town | — | |
| 2013–2016 | Citizen Khan | Debbie | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Siblings | Amanda | Episode: “Burrito Neighbours” |
| 2014–2015 | The Job Lot | Natalie Mason | Main cast, series 2–3 |
| 2015 | Waterloo Road | Lorna Hutchinson | Recurring, series 10 (final series) |
| 2015 | Bluestone 42 | Ellen | Main cast, series 3 |
| 2016 | Comedy Playhouse | Georgy | Episode: “Stop/Start” |
| 2016 | Josh | Amy | Episode: “Sex & Politics” |
| 2016 | Lovesick | Jo | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Liar | DI Charlotte Sullivan | Episode: “The Marshes” |
| 2017 | So Awkward | Ms Vicky Parfitt | Main cast, series 3 |
| 2018 | Shane the Chef | Penny | Recurring voice role, 4 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Space Chickens in Space | Starley | Main cast, voice role |
| 2019 | Sadie Sparks | Val Garcia | Recurring voice role |
| 2019 | London Kills | Leanne Ponting | 2 episodes |
| 2019, 2024 | Gavin & Stacey | Sonia | “A Special Christmas” and the 2024 finale |
| 2020 | Incredible Ant | Bibi | Main cast |
| 2020 | The Split | Tabby | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Death in Paradise | Cherry Jackson | Episode: “Lucky in Love” |
| 2021 | The One | Lucy Bell | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas | Ella | Television special |
| 2022 | The Rising | Victoria Sands | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Archie | Dyan Cannon | Main cast |
| 2024 | Joan | Val | 5 episodes, ITV |
| 2025 | This City Is Ours | Rachel Duffy | Main cast, BBC |
| 2025 | Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes | Lana Vandenberghe | 3 episodes |
| 2026 | Dragon Striker | TBA | Announced |
| TBA | Rhona Who Lives by the River | Rhona #1 / Rhona #2 | In post-production |
The Mysti Show (2004–2005) — the first lead
Aikman was 18 when she took the title role in The Mysti Show, a CBBC Saturday-morning series built around a magical teenage character who moved between a fantasy world and everyday problems sent in by viewers. The character was introduced to a wider audience first through a Tracy Beaker Children in Need special, then given her own show.
It matters for two reasons. It was the first production she had to carry on her own, and it established the direct, quick, slightly heightened comic register that she would use for the next decade of sitcom work.
Casualty — twice, nine years apart
A detail that most filmographies of Aikman miss: she has appeared in Casualty as two entirely different characters. In 2000, aged 14, she guested as Rebecca Bright in “Choked: Part One”. Nine years later, in August 2009, the BBC announced her as a new series regular, and she joined the cast as receptionist May Phelps on 12 September 2009.
May Phelps ran for 35 episodes across series 24, ending on 8 May 2010. It remains her longest continuous run in a single role and the job that made her recognisable to a mainstream BBC One audience.
The sitcom decade (2011–2017)
Between Not Going Out in 2011 and So Awkward in 2017, Aikman worked almost continuously in British comedy. She played Keith Lemon’s Yorkshire girlfriend Rosie Parker in the first series of Lemon La Vida Loca, teacher Melanie Poppy across three series of CBBC’s 4 O’Clock Club, and Debbie in Citizen Khan.
The strongest of these is The Job Lot, where she joined for series 2 and 3 as Natalie Mason, a lead role in an ensemble workplace comedy set in a Midlands job centre. In the same period she took the deputy headteacher Lorna Hutchinson into the tenth and final series of Waterloo Road, and joined Bluestone 42 as Ellen for its third series — a job that turned out to matter personally as well as professionally.
Readers following British comedy performers of this generation may also want our guide to Rachel Parris’s career and personal life.
Gavin & Stacey (2019 and 2024)
Aikman appears in only two episodes of Gavin & Stacey, but they are two of the most-watched episodes of British television this century. She plays Sonia, Smithy’s girlfriend, introduced in the 2019 Christmas special and returning for the 2024 finale.
She has since spoken publicly about the secrecy around the finale, including keeping her involvement from her own family until broadcast. For a two-episode part, it is comfortably the credit that brought her the widest recognition.
Recent drama work (2023–2026)
Her most recent phase has moved decisively towards drama. She played Dyan Cannon in Archie, ITV’s series about Cary Grant, took a five-episode role as Val in the ITV crime drama Joan in 2024, and in 2025 joined the main cast of the BBC’s Liverpool-set This City Is Ours as Rachel Duffy. The same year she appeared as Lana Vandenberghe in Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Earlier, in 2020, she appeared as Tabby in two episodes of the BBC legal drama The Split. Ahead are Dragon Striker and the post-production feature Rhona Who Lives by the River, in which she is credited in a dual role.
Laura Aikman’s video game voice roles
This is the part of her career that most articles about her either skip or get wrong. Aikman has voiced characters in 19 released video games since 2012, and in the Japanese role-playing game world she is a genuinely well-known name.
| Year | Game | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Secret World | Various |
| 2013 | Divinity: Dragon Commander | Scarlett |
| 2014 | Grid Autosport | Various |
| 2014 | Dreamfall Chapters | Sister Sahya / Marcurian Rebel |
| 2014 | Dragon Age: Inquisition | Various |
| 2015 | Dragon Quest Heroes | Various (English version) |
| 2015 | Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | Yda |
| 2015 | Guitar Hero Live | Various |
| 2015 | Assassin’s Creed Syndicate | London Civilian |
| 2015 | Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: Jack the Ripper | London Civilian |
| 2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Various |
| 2017 | Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood | Lyse |
| 2017 | Dragon Quest XI | Jade (English version) |
| 2019 | Another Eden | Various |
| 2019 | Anthem | Various |
| 2019 | Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | Lyse |
| 2021 | Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | Lyse |
| 2023 | Final Fantasy XVI | Eloise |
| 2024 | Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Doireann |
The Yda and Lyse connection
Her most significant game role has a twist built into it. In Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (2015) she voiced Yda, a masked member of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. The Stormblood expansion in 2017 revealed that the character had been Lyse all along, using her late sister’s identity — and Aikman carried the same performer through the reveal, continuing as Lyse through Shadowbringers (2019) and Endwalker (2021).
Four expansions of the same character across six years is, by a wide margin, the longest-running role of her career in any medium. She returned to Square Enix in 2023 as Eloise in Final Fantasy XVI, and voiced Jade in the English dub of Dragon Quest XI.
Audio drama and Big Finish work
Alongside games, Aikman has recorded regularly for Big Finish, appearing across the Doctor Who, Torchwood and Blake’s 7 ranges.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Bernice Summerfield Vol. 5: Buried Memories | Young Anita |
| 2020 | Susan’s War 1 | Lootsa |
| 2020 | Doctor Who: Time Apart | Mary Wade |
| 2020 | Torchwood: Ex Machina | Abigail Forehill |
| 2021 | The Diary of River Song, Series 8 | Linos / Shuttle AI |
| 2021 | Master! | Lila Kreeg |
| 2021 | The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles Vol. 2 | Sarah Ellison |
| 2022 | Heroes and Villains (Worlds of Blake’s 7) | Mutoid / Pesh |
| 2023 | The Chimes | Lillian |
| 2025 | Doctor Who: Rise of the Eukaryans | Narrator |
Early life and family
Laura Holly Aikman was born on 24 December 1985 in the London Borough of Brent and grew up in Northwood, Hertfordshire. She attended Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in Elstree.
Both her parents worked in the industry, which explains how a ten-year-old ended up on a Merchant Ivory set. Her father is Stuart Aikman, a stunt performer, director and writer who works professionally as Stuart St Paul; her mother is the actress Jean Heard. This is a specific and checkable fact that is worth stating plainly, because vaguer versions of it circulate widely.
Personal life
Aikman has been married to the actor Matt Kennard since 2019. They met in 2015 when she joined the cast of Bluestone 42 for its third and final series, in which Kennard was also appearing.
Outside acting, she was one of 27 performers who recorded the charity single “Rock With Rudolph” at Metropolis Studios in 2018, released under the name The Celebs in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. The single reached number two on the iTunes pop chart. She has also volunteered with the mental health text service Shout 85258.
Where to watch Laura Aikman’s work
- BBC iPlayer — Gavin & Stacey, This City Is Ours, The Split, Casualty archive episodes
- ITVX — Joan, Archie, Liar
- Netflix and Prime Video — availability varies by title and region; Scrapper and This Is Christmas have rotated through both
- Sky and NOW — This Is Christmas
- Final Fantasy XIV — her Lyse performance runs through the Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker storylines
If you are working through British character actors of this generation, our guides to Tom Burke’s movies and TV shows and Niamh Algar’s movies and TV shows cover two contemporaries with similarly wide-ranging filmographies.
Frequently asked questions
What is Laura Aikman best known for?
To a general British television audience, Sonia in Gavin & Stacey and May Phelps in Casualty. To viewers who grew up with CBBC, the title role in The Mysti Show. To gamers, Lyse in Final Fantasy XIV. Which answer is right depends entirely on which audience you ask.
Who does Laura Aikman play in Gavin & Stacey?
She plays Sonia, Smithy’s girlfriend. The character appears in the 2019 Christmas special and returns for the 2024 finale — two episodes in total.
How old is Laura Aikman?
She was born on 24 December 1985, which makes her 40.
Is Laura Aikman married?
Yes. She married the actor Matt Kennard in 2019, having met him on the set of Bluestone 42 in 2015.
Which video games has Laura Aikman voiced?
Nineteen released titles, including Final Fantasy XIV (as Yda and then Lyse across four expansions), Final Fantasy XVI (Eloise), Dragon Quest XI (Jade), Dragon’s Dogma 2 (Doireann), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. The full list is in the table above.
What is Laura Aikman’s net worth?
There is no verified figure. Aikman has never published her earnings, and the numbers that appear on celebrity net worth sites are estimates generated from guesswork rather than disclosed accounts. We would rather say that than repeat an invented figure.
How tall is Laura Aikman?
She is commonly listed at around 5ft 3in (160cm), though this is not confirmed by her agency and the various figures circulating online do not all agree.
What is Laura Aikman working on next?
Dragon Striker is announced for 2026, and the feature Rhona Who Lives by the River is in post-production, with Aikman credited in a dual role.
Sources
Credits on this page were compiled and cross-checked against Laura Aikman’s Wikipedia entry and her IMDb profile, together with broadcaster announcements from the BBC and ITV. Last verified September 2026. If you spot a missing or incorrect credit, tell us and we will check it.
