# Nina Toussaint-White
**Nina Toussaint-White** (born 1985) is an English actress known for playing Syd Chambers in the BBC soap opera *EastEnders*, Mels in the *Doctor Who* episode "Let's Kill Hitler", DS Louise Rayburn in *Bodyguard*, and Jane Thwaite in the 2025 crime drama *Murder Before Evensong*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2804975/bio/) • [2](https://www.gamesradar.com/switch-interview-nina-toussaint-white/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, London, England; raised in Plumstead, south east London[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2804975/bio/) |
| Training | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Clapham, three-year BA acting course; graduated 2007[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2804975/bio/) • [4](https://hungermag.com/editorial/meet-nina-toussaint-white) |
| Professional debut | Casualty, 2007, in the role of Bunmi[5](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/) |
| Breakthrough role | Syd Chambers in *EastEnders*, 41 episodes from 6 February to 11 December 2009[6](https://eastenders.fandom.com/wiki/Syd_Chambers) |
| Doctor Who | Mels in "Let's Kill Hitler" (2011), the young River Song[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/switch-interview-nina-toussaint-white/) |
| Recent lead work | Jane Thwaite in *Murder Before Evensong* (Acorn TV and Channel 5, 2025)[3](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/) |
| Award nomination | Best Performance in a Musical, UK Theatre Awards 2016, for *The Etienne Sisters*[7](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/the_sister_press_pack_final.pdf) |
## Early life and training
Toussaint-White was raised in Plumstead, south east London, and was educated at Plumstead Manor School and Negus Sixth Form Centre before training at the [Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/italia-conti-academy-of-theatre-arts) in Clapham on its three-year BA acting course.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2804975/bio/) In interviews she has said that although she loved performing as a child, her commitment to acting took hold at A-level, where she took Art and Drama; she has described acting as giving her "a new focus and direction and a new sense of purpose".[4](https://hungermag.com/editorial/meet-nina-toussaint-white) She graduated in 2007 and signed with her first agent in her final year at the school.[4](https://hungermag.com/editorial/meet-nina-toussaint-white)
## Television
**Early credits.** She made her professional debut in a 2007 episode of the BBC medical series *Casualty*, in the role of Bunmi, followed the next year by an appearance in *The Bill* as Janice Pool.[5](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/) • [8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/)
**EastEnders, 2009.** In 2009 Toussaint-White was cast as nurse Sydney "Syd" Chambers, a love interest for Bradley Branning, making her first screen appearance on 6 February 2009.[5](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/) • [6](https://eastenders.fandom.com/wiki/Syd_Chambers) Her character arrives in Walford to return Bradley's missing dog Gumbo, moves into a flat above the bookmakers, and dates Bradley before leaving the series on 11 December 2009, when the character moves to Canada with her son Noah Chambers; she appeared in 41 episodes.[6](https://eastenders.fandom.com/wiki/Syd_Chambers)
**Doctor Who and series roles.** In 2011 she guest starred as Mels in the *Doctor Who* episode "Let's Kill Hitler", a character who is the young River Song, the role later played by [Alex Kingston](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-kingston).[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/switch-interview-nina-toussaint-white/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/) In 2012 she appeared opposite her former *EastEnders* co-star [Lacey Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/lacey-turner) as Jude, a series lead in the ITV2 supernatural drama *S*Witch*.[5](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/) • [8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/) Through the 2010s she held regular and semi-regular parts as Shelly in three series of the BBC3 comedy *Uncle*, as Lucy in the E4 comedy *GameFace*, as Angie in *Emmerdale*, and in *Holby City*, *Scott & Bailey*, and *Whitechapel*.[8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/)
**Thrillers, 2018 onward.** In 2018 she appeared as DS Louise Rayburn in the BBC and Netflix series *Bodyguard*, and in 2019 she played the lead role of Kate Hatfield in the science fiction psychological drama *The Feed* for Amazon.[7](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/the_sister_press_pack_final.pdf) In 2020 she played DCI Jacki Hadley in *The Sister*, a four-part psychological thriller for ITV created and written by Neil Cross, the writer of *Luther*, starring alongside [Russell Tovey](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-tovey) and [Bertie Carvel](https://www.edgepedia.org/bertie-carvel).[9](https://squaremile.com/style/nina-toussaint-white-interview/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10642480/fullcredits/) She has since appeared in *Witness Number 3* for Channel 5, the BBC anthology crime series *Showtrial* as defense solicitor Claudia Wood, and the eighth series of *[Shetland](https://www.edgepedia.org/shetland-tv-series)* as Amma Calder.[11](https://dramaquarterly.com/in-the-witness-box/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/) • [8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/)
In 2025 she joined the cast of *Murder Before Evensong*, an adaptation of the [Richard Coles](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-coles) novel, playing Jane Thwaite, the church organist at St Mary's and wife of the local newspaper photographer Ned Thwaite.[3](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/murder_before_evensong/s01/cast-and-crew)
## Theatre
Theatre is, in Toussaint-White's words, the reason she became an actor, although she has worked more in television for financial reasons.[13](https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/nina-toussaint-white-you-cant-always-do-passion-projects-when-you-need-to-put-food-on-the-table) Her stage work includes Jane in *The Libertine* by Stephen Jeffreys at the Theatre Royal, Bath and Haymarket in 2016, Susan in the European premiere of [David Mamet](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-mamet)'s *Race* at Hampstead Theatre, and Tree in *The Etienne Sisters* at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2015.[7](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/the_sister_press_pack_final.pdf) • [8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/) For *The Etienne Sisters* she was nominated for Best Performance in a Musical at the UK Theatre Awards 2016.[7](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/the_sister_press_pack_final.pdf) • [5](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/) In 2022 she starred as Anna in *Closer* at the Lyric Hammersmith.[13](https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/nina-toussaint-white-you-cant-always-do-passion-projects-when-you-need-to-put-food-on-the-table)
## Film
Her feature film credits include Luna Cujai in *[Kandahar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kandahar-2023-film)*, directed by Ric Roman Waugh for Thunder Road Pictures, and Sarah Robinson in *The Primrose Railway Children*, produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family and released in 2024.[8](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/)
## References
1. [Nina Toussaint-White – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2804975/bio/)
2. [Switch Interview: Nina Toussaint-White, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/switch-interview-nina-toussaint-white/)
3. [Murder Before Evensong cast is led by Harry Potter's old mate, TVGuide.co.uk](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/murder-before-evensong-cast-acorn-channel-5-matthew-lewis-amanda-redman/)
4. [Meet Nina Toussaint-White, Hunger](https://hungermag.com/editorial/meet-nina-toussaint-white)
5. [Nina Toussaint-White – About, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/nina-toussaint-white/)
6. [Syd Chambers, EastEnders Wiki](https://eastenders.fandom.com/wiki/Syd_Chambers)
7. [The Sister Press Pack, ITV Press Centre](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/the_sister_press_pack_final.pdf)
8. [Nina Toussaint White – CV, Conway Van Gelder Grant](https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/nina-toussaint-white/)
9. [Nina Toussaint-White on The Sister, Square Mile](https://squaremile.com/style/nina-toussaint-white-interview/)
10. [The Sister (2020) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10642480/fullcredits/)
11. [In the Witness box, Drama Quarterly](https://dramaquarterly.com/in-the-witness-box/)
12. [Murder Before Evensong: Season 1 – Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/murder_before_evensong/s01/cast-and-crew)
13. [Nina Toussaint-White: 'You can't always do passion projects when you need to put food on the table', The Stage](https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/nina-toussaint-white-you-cant-always-do-passion-projects-when-you-need-to-put-food-on-the-table)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › EastEnders › EastEnders cast members*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license