If you’ve been feasting on Netflix’s South London sci-fi thriller, Supacell, you’ll doubtless have fallen in love with Dionne whose superpower is that she’s played by the brilliant Adelayo Adedayo.

Also kicking considerable ass recently in BBC police procedural The Responder, Adelayo is generous in her praise for Supacell writer-director and serial kicker against the establishment pricks, Rapman.

“I think Raps has done something really special with Supacell,” she reflects. “He came on to my radar with his first feature, Blue Story, which got an incredible reaction – and rightly so. When Supacell came around, I got the brief and was like, ‘Wow, never in my life have I read anything like this. Five people in South London, who aren’t really connected other than they’re all black, suddenly develop super powers… send me the script!’ So they did and I fell in love with Dionne who’s one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet.”

But, alas, not endowed with a superpower.

“Yeah, I kept giving Raps a hard time over that – and pointing out that he can rectify it in series two!” Adelayo laughs. “In superhero films and TV shows, you’re always hearing about the people who get the powers and go off and save the world but not their mother or wife or brother whose lives are also impacted. I was really excited about the extra dimension Dionne brings to the story.”

Dionne is engaged to Michael Lasaki who suddenly finds himself able to travel through time and is played by Adelayo’s old acting mucker, Tosin Cole.

“We’ve been friends for ten years and did one of our first films, Gone Too Far, together,” she recalls. “I can’t remember who called who but we got together for a chat before our chemistry test together.”

Adelayo as Dionne saying "Yes!" in Supacell.

Which they comprehensively aced. Getting back to Rapman, how does he compare to the other directors Adelayo has worked with in her almost twenty year career?

“He’s very collaborative and wants to get into your head,” she proffers. “Raps really values your thoughts and opinions and is incredibly encouraging. He’s constantly reminding you of how much he wants you there: ‘I’ve got you here for a reason. I value what you’re going to bring… so bring it!’ Because of that, you come to set every day with a sense of, ‘Right, no messing around, let’s get stuck in!’ If a disagreement crops up, he’ll go, ‘Okay, let’s try and find a way through this.’ He’s also the kind of director who makes you feel safe enough to get out of your comfort zone and try something different. It mightn’t always work but that’s okay.”

Adelayo is no stranger to sci-fi roles having spent a sizable chunk of 2018 in South Africa filming Origin, a megabucks YouTube production whose cast also included recent Hot Press interviewee Siobhán Cullen.

“It was a huge, huge budget,” she nods. “The sets were just insane. They basically built a space ship. You’d come to work every day and be in awe of how massive and realistic it was. We were all looking at each thinking, ‘Oh my god, is this for real? How many people have come together and made this happen? I’d never seen a set like that before. I spent half my time in Cape Town – which is really beautiful – suffering from imposter syndrome. Even towards the end of it, I’d be halfway through a scene and go, ‘How did I get here?’”

Born and bred in East London’s Canning Town neighbourhood, Adelayo learned the tricks of her trade at the Identity School of Acting, which was set up twenty years ago in nearby Hackney by super-agent Femi Oguns who wanted to create a nurturing environment for the kids who couldn’t get afford to go RADA.

So successful has Oguns been in his “mission to disrupt the industry with a new, diverse generation of talent” that there are now IDSA outposts in Manchester, Birmingham and Los Angeles.

“The lightbulb moment for me was when I joined the Identity acting school and agency,” she reflects. “I’d done all the drama clubs during the summer holidays and stuff like that, but it had never been presented to me as a proper career. I didn’t even know that the likes of RADA existed until I started working, so I had no way of knowing ‘This is how you become an actor.’ When Identity started sending to me auditions I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, someone’s going to pay me for doing something I love… sign me up!’

“It was a really wonderful time,” she continues. “I don’t know how Femi did it but it was such a comfortable and safe space. I was one of the first Identity students along with the likes of Malachi Kirby who was brilliant last year in Wicked Little Letters and Nicôle Lecky who’s done one-woman stage shows, loads of TV stuff and written for EastEnders. It was a really talented bunch of people who otherwise mightn’t have had the opportunity to become professional actors.”

We have Whoopi Goldberg to thank for Adelayo being bitten by the acting bug as a kid.

“It’s telling of my younger self but something that made a huge impression on me growing up was Sister Act 2. I can watch it over and over again and still desperately want to be in the school choir. It has the same grip on me now as when I was a kid.”

Talking to yours truly last month – see hotpress.com for the full interview – Rapman said that growing up he didn’t see himself in TV shows or movies.

Asked whether she felt similarly disenfranchised, Adelayo shoots back: “I saw people who looked like me on American teen shows like One On One and My Wife And Kids but I never saw my life and world represented. There wasn’t a Supacell back then, which is absolutely me and my friends. There are so many cool, nuanced characters to look at and identify with. I think that’s really beautiful and very vital.”

Adelayo’s first paid gig was as an extra in another police procedural, The Bill.

“It was my first time on set working and just incredible,” she enthuses. “I couldn’t believe I’d got this role in a primetime show watched by millions. I wasn’t sent any type of script so I had to get to the audition an hour early and furiously learn my lines before going into the audition room. It was a really chunky, interesting storyline and I was over the moon.”

After more bit-parts in the likes of Skins and Law & Order UK, Adelayo’s big TV break came in 2012 when she bagged the role of Viva Bennett in Some Girls, another ground-breaking series about four South London teenagers preoccupied by school, boyfriends, careers and sex. But not necessarily in that order.

The Some Girls crew.

“That was an immense amount of fun,” she beams. “It was four girls – who all became real life friends – spending every waking moment together during a really intense six weeks of shooting. The scripts were so funny. It was brilliant.”

While she has Supacell to thank for her burgeoning international fame – the six-parter is available for streaming in over 190 countries – Adelayo hasn’t been able to go unrecognised in supermarkets since January 2022 when she made her debut as probationary police officer Rachel Hargreaves in BBC One’s The Responder.

“Again, it’s loads of fun,” she smiles. “Everyone on that set is aware of how heavy the show is and has a laugh between takes. I spend a lot of time on The Responders with Martin Freeman and both of us are jokers who like to take the piss a little bit. Just before they call ‘action’ he’ll say something funny, which isn’t fair because I’m a corpse-r and Martin is able to keep a straight face no matter what you throw at him. He’s really adamant about having a good time and appreciating how much of a privilege it is to be doing what we’re doing.

“I’m gutted that I didn’t get to do any scenes with them but you’ve acting royalty in the show like Rita Tushingham and Bernard Hill who has such a presence in this new series but sadly died in May. His eyes are incredible and he really draws you in.”

In the same way that Supacell’s biggest star is South London, The Responder derives its incredible energy and pitch black humour from its Merseyside setting.

“Oh my god, every single person in Liverpool is funny!” Adelayo observes. “I love being out in the city and catching little snippets of conversations or seeing somebody in the most random fancy dress outfit. We recorded the first season of The Responder during lockdown so it was quiet. This time, though, the place was buzzing which definitely feeds into the show.”

Adelayo Adedayo

Frock-watchers might have noticed Adelayo wearing a fabulous white printed Faben gown at the recent BAFTA awards. Does she enjoy the fashion side of things?

“Increasingly so, yeah,” she admits. “Instead of it being an outfit that I just throw on, I’m starting to appreciate the creative process and the artistry involved. Watching a designer or stylist doing their thing is invigorating. You’re like, ‘Ooh, yeah, I want to be part of that!’

Faben, who I wore to the BAFTAs, is gorgeous. I wore Amelia Wickstead the other day and there’s a brand called ShuShu/Tong that I also think is beautiful. I just need more premieres and awards ceremonies to wear them all at!”

I don’t think there’s going to be any shortage of those...

• Supacell is streaming now on Netflix while The Responder can be seen on both Amazon Prime and the BBC Player.