Ayesha Gwilt is a British actress, writer, facilitator and curator best known for playing Amy Porter in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road. She was born in Manchester in 1989 and built her career through television, theatre, radio and creative arts projects. She later used the professional name Nisa Cole, which became common in her stage and screen credits.
Her career has developed far beyond one famous television role. From major National Theatre productions to writing her own stage work and supporting Manchester arts projects, she has shown a strong interest in creative work with social meaning. In recent years, her professional activity has also included curation, communication and business interests.
Ayesha Gwilt Age, Birthplace and Early Life
Official UK company records give Ayesha Dawn Gwilt’s birth month as October 1989. This makes her 36 years old in September 2026, with her 37th birthday due in October 2026. Some entertainment sources use 28 November 1989, but the October date has stronger support from official company records.
Ayesha Gwilt was born in Manchester, England, and has remained closely connected with the city throughout her professional life. Rusholme has also been associated with her early background. Manchester later became an important base for her work in theatre, workshops, cultural projects and creative development.
Ayesha’s nationality is British. Claims about her exact ethnic heritage should be treated with care because there is no strong first-person source that clearly defines it. Some online pages place her within particular ancestry categories, but a responsible biography should not turn uncertain heritage claims into established fact.
Ayesha Gwilt Family Background
Secondary biographical material names Richard and Joan Gwilt as her parents and states that she has a younger sister named Rhian Gwilt. These details have circulated for years, although Ayesha herself has not made family life a major part of her public career.
Her private life has remained separate from her professional work. She has not built her reputation through celebrity relationships or family exposure. Instead, most attention around her has focused on acting, theatre-making, writing and her contribution to Manchester’s cultural community.
Ayesha Gwilt and the Name Nisa Cole
Ayesha Dawn Gwilt and Nisa Cole are the same performer. She worked under Ayesha Gwilt during the early stage of her television career, including her time on Waterloo Road. From the early 2010s, the name Nisa Cole became widely used across theatre, television and radio credits.
There is no solid evidence that Cole came from marriage. It is best treated as a professional name rather than a married surname. This point matters because some inaccurate celebrity pages have tried to connect the name with relationships that have never been confirmed.
Ayesha Gwilt in Waterloo Road
Her best-known role remains Amy Porter in Waterloo Road. She joined the drama in 2009 and remained part of the programme until 2011, making close to 50 appearances. Amy arrived during a major period of change at the fictional school and became one of the memorable pupils of that era.
The role gave her national visibility while she was still a young actress. Amy was confident, difficult at times and emotionally complex, giving Gwilt material that went beyond a simple schoolgirl character. Her work in the series helped establish a foundation for later television and theatre opportunities.
Other Ayesha Gwilt TV Shows
Before and after Waterloo Road, she built a varied television career. In 2009, she played Grace Oudidja in the BBC drama All the Small Things. The programme mixed family drama with music and became one of her earliest significant television credits.
She later appeared in The Sparticle Mystery as Tiny and played Nina Jethroe in Doctors. She also had a part in Mount Pleasant, where she played Lianne. These smaller roles helped her move away from being recognised only as Amy Porter.
In 2016, she enjoyed a particularly active television year. She played Mia Haleford in Vera, Jenna Mawson in Scott & Bailey and Penelope Betteredge in the BBC adaptation of The Moonstone. Her role in Scott & Bailey extended across several episodes and placed her within one of Britain’s established crime dramas.
Her screen work also includes the film The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, in which she played Estelle Jarvis. The production added another feature-film credit to a career that had already crossed television, theatre and radio.
Ayesha Gwilt Theatre Career
Theatre has played an important role in her development. Early work included Meet the Mukherjees at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre, where she played India. She was also associated with productions and creative work at Contact in Manchester during the early years of her career.
In 2012, working as Nisa Cole, she played Jennet in Sabbat at The Dukes in Lancaster. She later took the role of Jem in Treasure Island. These productions showed her ability to move comfortably between television work and live performance.
Ayesha Gwilt and War Horse
One of her strongest theatre credits came with the National Theatre’s touring production of War Horse. She played Emilie during the UK and Ireland tour, joining a major production that travelled through cities including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Cardiff and Salford.
She later worked with the National Theatre again in Macbeth, directed by Rufus Norris, playing Fleance. Working on major national productions strengthened her theatre experience and placed her alongside performers and creative teams working at the highest level of British stage production.
Ayesha Gwilt in Cinderella and The Three Musketeers
In 2016, she played the title role in Cinderella at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield. Her performance brought warmth and energy to the traditional character while allowing her to work within a family-focused production.
She later joined The Three Musketeers at The Dukes in Lancaster, performing as Constance and taking on further parts within the production. Her theatre work continued to show versatility rather than commitment to one type of character.
Ayesha Gwilt as a Writer and Creative Artist
Acting is only one part of her professional identity. She wrote and performed Muck, a stage piece dealing with emotional harm and abusive behaviour. The work demonstrated her interest in developing stories with difficult social themes rather than relying only on roles written by others.
She has also worked as a drama facilitator. In a 2016 interview, she discussed plans to develop her skills in collaborative theatre-making and continue leading drama workshops in Manchester. This direction became increasingly visible during the following years.
Ayesha Gwilt Curatorial Work
In 2019, she became one of the Contact Young Curators involved with Manchester International Festival. She helped curate A Drunk Pandemic, created by Japanese art collective Chim↑Pom. The project connected international contemporary art with young creative voices from Manchester.
She was also involved in devised performance development and collaborative arts work. These projects show a gradual shift from being known mainly as an actress towards a wider professional identity involving writing, facilitation, curation and communication.
What Is Ayesha Gwilt Doing Now?
Her more recent professional identity is broader than traditional acting. A publicly accessible professional page describes her as a writer, facilitator, curator and communicator based in Manchester. This fits closely with the direction her career has taken through theatre workshops, writing and cultural projects.
There is also a recent business development. UK company records show an Ayesha Dawn Gwilt, born in October 1989 and based in the United Kingdom, serving as director of Krafthaus Homes Ltd from June 2025. The company works within property activities, including buying, selling, letting and real-estate services.
The exact full name, birth details and Manchester connection create a very strong match with the actress. Company records also show her with significant control over the business. This gives a fresh dimension to a career already shaped by television, theatre and creative work.
Ayesha Gwilt Today
Ayesha Gwilt has built a career with more depth than her Waterloo Road fame alone may show. She began as a young Manchester actress, became recognised nationally as Amy Porter, moved through television and major theatre productions, then expanded into writing, facilitation and curatorial work.
Her path reflects steady creative growth rather than dependence on one famous role. While much of her private life remains protected, her professional work shows an artist who has continued to develop across performance, theatre-making, culture and business. That broad career makes her story far more interesting than a simple account of a former television star.
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