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Molly Rainford
Rainford in 2022
Born
Molly Anne Rainford

(2000-11-22) 22 November 2000 (age 24)
Havering, London, England
Education
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • television presenter
Years active2012–present
Television
PartnerTyler West (2023–present)
Parents

Molly Anne Rainford (born 22 November 2000) is an English actress, singer and television presenter. She was a finalist on the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2012 and was one of the presenters on Friday Download between 2014 and 2015. She has since released two extended plays and has gone on to portray the titular character in the CBBC comedy drama series Nova Jones from 2021 onwards. In 2022, Rainford competed in the twentieth series of Strictly Come Dancing; she reached the final and finished as a runner-up. In 2023, she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Anna Knight, as well as continuing to release music.

Life and career

Early life and Britain's Got Talent

Rainford was born on 22 November 2000 in the London Borough of Havering.[1][2][3] Her father is former Chelmsford City F.C. midfielder and assistant manager Dave Rainford and her family descends from Jamaica.[3][4][5] In 2012, at the age of 11, she auditioned for the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent, singing her own version of Jennifer Hudson's "One Night Only" from the film Dreamgirls.[6] She advanced to the semi-final stages where she sang "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette; Rainford made it through to the final after finishing second in the public vote.[7][8][9] In the final, she sang Beyoncé's version of "Ave Maria" and finished the competition in sixth place.[10][11] Following the show, she was signed to Sony Music.[12] Judge Simon Cowell also sponsored Rainford to attend Sylvia Young Theatre School.[5] She later attended East London Arts & Music.[13]

Television and music career

In 2014, Rainford joined the presenting team on the CBBC children's entertainment series Friday Download alongside Akai Osei and Bars and Melody, appearing as a presenter on the eighth and ninth series until the show's cancellation in 2015.[14] In 2016, she appeared in an episode of CBBC's Millie Inbetween as Chloe.[15][16] In 2021, Rainford began starring in the CBBC comedy drama Nova Jones, portraying the titular character, with the series focusing on the life and adventures of a galactic pop singer.[17] The series was subsequently renewed for a second and third series.[18]

In 2019, she released her debut extended play Commitment, which featured the songs "I Like You", "Long Run", "Forever and a Day", "How Many Times" and the titular single "Commitment", which has amassed over two million streams online.[19][20][2] In 2020, she released a second EP, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), which featured covers of Christmas songs including "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", "Who Would Imagine a King", "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and the title track.[21][22] In 2022, Rainford was announced as a contestant on the twentieth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[23][24][25] She finished as the runner-up alongside her professional partner Carlos Gu.[26][27]

In March 2023, it was announced that she had been cast on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Her character, Anna Knight, was brought in as a daughter in a family introduced as new owners of the fictional Queen Vic pub.[28] She made her on-screen debut on 1 June 2023.[29] She also released "My Heart's a Broken Record" with DJ Alex Kirsch as her first mainstream single.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2012 This Morning Herself 1 episode
Britain's Got Talent 5 episodes
Lorraine 2 episodes
2012, 2017 Britain’s Got More Talent
2014 Friday Download Episode: "Molly Rainford, Anais Gallagher, Akai Osei, Julie Rogers & Pixie Lott"
2016 Millie Inbetween Chloe Episode: "Millie Goes Bad"
2017 Christmas Spirit Molly Short film
2021–present Nova Jones Nova Jones Main role
2022 Strictly Come Dancing Herself 26 episodes
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 16 episodes
2023–present EastEnders Anna Knight Regular role
2023 Children in Need Herself 1 episode
2024 Richard Osman's House of Games Herself 5 episodes

Discography

Extended plays

Title EP details
Commitment[20]
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)[21]
  • Released: 27 November 2020
  • Label: Molly Rainford
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

Title Year Album
"Sign Your Name"[30] 2019 Non-album singles
"My Heart Is a Broken Record"[31]
(with Alex Kirsch) 		2023

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Work Result Ref.
2023 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Newcomer EastEnders Nominated [32]
2024 National Film Awards UK Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series EastEnders Pending [33]

Personal life

Rainford has been in a relationship with Tyler West since 2023. They met whilst both competing on the twentieth series of Strictly Come Dancing


See also

References

  1. ^ Rainford, Molly (22 November 2021). "Birthday girlllll✨ it's been year full of blessings and lessons. I'm so grateful for everyone and everything around me right now, so thanks for all the love & energy💕 🥂Here's to another year of grafting and living my best lifeeee👸🏼". Instagram. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Molly Rainford is the tenth celebrity contestant confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2022". BBC. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Daughter of Clarets captain is BGT finalist". Chelmsford and Mid Essex Times. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Molly's bright future, despite BGT disappointment". Chelmsford and Mid Essex Times. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Benjamin, Laura (10 July 2023). "Molly Rainford opens up on life after Strictly: new music, Tyler West romance and exciting EastEnders role". Hello!. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. ^ "New Noise: Molly Rainford". Wonderland. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists revealed". ITV News. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Britain's Got Talent: Rogues and Molly storm to final". Irish Independent. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Loveable Rogues, Molly Rainford through to Britain's Got Talent final". Digital Spy. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Britain's Got Talent Star Molly Rainford Joins Strictly Come Dancing 2022 Line-Up". HuffPost. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Britain's Got Talent Molly Rainford: l want to be a diva like Beyoncé". Digital Spy. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  12. ^ "'BGT' Ryan O'Shaughnessy, Molly Rainford sign record deals". Digital Spy. 19 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. ^ "In depth with Molly Rainford". Mission Statement Magazine. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Download - Presenter Download: Molly". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Millie Inbetween: Series 3.2. Millie Goes Bad". BBC. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Millie Inbetween - Series 3, Episode 2 - Millie Goes Bad". British Comedy Guide. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Molly Rainford is out of this world in Nova Jones". RTÉ. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  18. ^ "BBC Children's, RTÉ renew musical adventure Nova Jones for two more seasons". C21Media. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Newcomer Molly Rainford releases debut EP, 'Commitment'". RN Brit. 8 October 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Commitment - EP by Molly Rainford on iTunes". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – EP by Molly Rainford on iTunes". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  22. ^ "We Have A Festive Chat With The Extraordinarily Talented Molly Rainford". Fizzy. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Welcome Molly Rainford our tenth celebrity contestant!". BBC. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2022 confirms BGT star Molly Rainford for line-up". Radio Times. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing announces Britain's Got Talent star as tenth contestant". Digital Spy. 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Hamza Yassin wins Strictly Come Dancing with partner Jowita Przystał | Strictly Come Dancing | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing winner announced". BBC News. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  28. ^ Harp, Justin (1 March 2023). "Strictly Come Dancing's Molly Rainford tipped to join EastEnders". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  29. ^ Salmon, Colin [@colinsalmon24] (30 March 2023). "TX June 1st. x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Sign Your Name – Single by Molly Rainford on iTunes". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  31. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Molly Rainford & Alex Kirsch talk teaming up on My Heart Is A Broken Record". Official Charts Company. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  32. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (11 November 2023). "Nominations revealed for the I Talk Telly Awards 2023 as voting opens". I Talk Telly.
  33. ^ Armstrong, Jeff (29 April 2024). "The National Film Awards unveils nominations for 10th anniversary celebration". National Film Academy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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