Vivian Oparah


Vivian Oparah is a British actress. She played Tanya Adeola in the BBC's Doctor Who spin-off Class

Early life

Oparah was born on 30 December 1996. She grew up in the London district of Tottenham. In 2014, she studied media, English literature, product design and biology at The Latymer School, where she was doing her A-Levels. During her media coursework in 2014 she formed a band called NTLS along with other students. Their debut single and video Heart Skipped a Beat was published on YouTube. Oparah also attended the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Later she became a member of the National Youth Theatre, where she did a two-week summer course.

Career

In 2016 Oparah was cast in the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off Class as Tanya Adeola. Oparah later said that Class was her first audition. When she auditioned she only knew that the series was linked to the Doctor Who universe, but she did not imagine that it was such a big production until she got the job and started filming. During the production of the series Oparah lived in Cardiff, in the same building as actress Sophie Hopkins. In 2017 Oparah was mentioned at the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards as Emerging Talent. In the same year she starred as the house slave Minnie in the theatre play An Octoroon at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. For her performance she received a nomination for the 2017 Off West End Theatre Awards as Best Female In A Play. In 2018 Oparah reprised her role as Tanya in six audio plays by Big Finish.

Filmography

Film

TV series

Audio

Music videos

Theatre

Nominations

The Off West End Theatre Awards