Photo credit: Dujoanna Gift-Simms

Cosmocreole is a celebration of the achievements of Seychellois women globally but ‘The Young Seychelloise’ series puts young women at the forefront. Too often their achievements go unnoticed and their stories are stifled, so we want to use this platform to champion the young Seychelloise who dare go after their dreams. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, this series sets out to praise those who are unapologetic in their pursuit of their goals. We kick off this series with Aisha Toussaint, a 25-year-old Seychellois actress from Glasgow, Scotland. A middle child of five, with four brothers – the once “quiet and shy” schoolgirl is paving the way for aspiring young Seychellois actresses.

Aisha, born in the Seychelles, moved to Scotland when she was six and spent most of her childhood in Glasgow. She was enrolled in dance classes at the age of seven, which lead her to move into musical theatre, but later shifted her focus to acting. Aisha landed her first role in 2016 as Jules Belmont in BBC Scotland’s soap opera River City whilst she was still studying for her Bachelor of Arts in Acting from the New College Lanarkshire. However, prior to this, she’d had minor roles in M.I. High in 2012 and Pramface in 2014.

As a child, Aisha was a fan of the children’s show ‘Raven’, which originally aired on CBBC in the United Kingdom from December 2002 to March 2010, and then made its return in 2017 on BBC Scotland. Much to Aisha’s delight, she was announced as the presenter of the new ‘Raven’ show. The children’s fantasy-themed game show was aired and filmed in Scotland. For Aisha, it’s an accolade to be incredibly proud of, as she was the first female presenter to be cast in the show.

In September 2019, Aisha appeared in the BBC’s soap opera ‘Doctors’ and graced our screens again this year in BBC One’s ‘The Nest’. Aisha is currently filming a new BBC drama series ‘Vigil’ which centres around the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board a Trident nuclear submarine which brings the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services. Aisha is working alongside an impressive cast, including Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack, Doctor Foster), Rose Leslie (Game Of Thrones, The Good Fight), Shaun Evans (Endeavour, Whitechapel), Anjli Mohindra (Bodyguard, Bancroft), Martin Compston (Line Of Duty, Mary Queen Of Scots), Paterson Joseph (The Leftovers, Peep Show), Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Jamestown), Adam James (Belgravia, Doctor Foster), and Gary Lewis (His Dark Materials, Billy Elliot).

Aisha said that she has enjoyed every role she has played to date and “each experience has been different, so I guess being able to stay in the industry and getting to play a variety of characters is the highlight.” Her message to aspiring actresses – “It’s hard. You will receive more no’s than yes. But let that be the fire that drives you.”

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