Nicôle Lecky

Lecky (born 1990)^[2][3] grew up in Stratford, East London.^[4] She is English-Jamaican and has siblings.^[5][6] Her father was an electrician and former DJ, and her mother a mental health nurse. Lecky studied for a time at King's College London, but graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. At age 18, she was signed by a theatrical agent.^[7][8][9] Her mother died when Lecky was 19.^[10]

Lecky has written for the soap opera EastEnders: E20, and her acting roles include the TV-series Casualty, Fresh Meat, Sense8 and Death in Paradise. She directed The Moor Girl, a short film.^[2][11][12]

Her 2018 play Superhoe was a collaboration between the Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jade Lewis. Lecky wrote and performed the monodrama,^[2][13] and collaborated with British rapper The Last Skeptik on the play's music.^[5][14] Superhoe follows the life of twenty-four year-old Sasha, and Lecky plays several characters.^[15] She was inspired by a website that posted personal information on Instagram women involved in sex work.^[7] Playwright Levi David Addai, who mentored Lecky around 2019, said in 2020 that she is "one of the most talented young writers, actresses, singer-songwriters in the country right now."^[11]

Superhoe received positive reviews. The Evening Standard's reviewer said "[Lecky is] a revelation — singing and rapping eloquently as she delivers a knotty, occasionally grim story with charismatic fluency."^[2] The Daily Telegraph's reviewer said "It stands squarely in the tradition of Royal Court writing while being its own fresh thing."^[5] WhatsOnStage.com's reviewer said "She knows how to keep the audience on her side with just a backward glance, and her comic timing is superb."^[15] The Guardian's reviewer said "Lecky engagingly performs her own writing ... Though rarely surprising, it's a simple story strongly told".^[14] Stylist's reviewer said "...be sure to remember Nicôle Lecky. She’s a star slash genius."^[16] The Times' reviewer said "The music is terrific, but, if anything, this show could easily use another song. The plot, however, never surprises us even for a moment. ... This is a shame because Sasha has got such sass and spark. You won’t find her at Wetherspoons; you really can’t help but like her."^[17]

The BBC decided to adapt Superhoe as a TV-series, and the six part musical drama Mood premiered in 2022 on BBC Three. Lecky played the main character Sasha Clayton, was a series executive producer and writer, and was also involved in creating the music. The characters are those she performed in the play.^[7][8][18] As part of her script-writing, she interviewed women involved in sex work online.^[8][19] As of 2026, Mood has a 100% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews.^[20] However, it had poor ratings on BBC3, averaging just 50,000 viewers per episode.^[21] Shortly after the premiere of Mood, Lecky was signed by the United Talent Agency (UTA).^[22]

Lecky played Julia Blenkinsopp in the 2024 Sky Atlantic comedy drama Sweetpea.^[23][24]

Lecky wrote, and appeared in, the drama Wild Cherry (2025) on BBC One.^[25][26]

Lecky was nominated for a Best Writer Stage Debut Award in 2019 for Superhoe.^[27] She won the New Talent category at the Women in Film and TV Awards in 2022.^[28]

Mood won two BAFTA awards, Best Mini-Series and Best Original Music: Fiction. Lecky was also nominated in a third category, Best Emerging Talent: Fiction. Accepting the mini-series award, she said "For me to be here, a working class, mixed, Black woman stood here I'm just really proud of that and I hope it really does inspire the next generation of storytellers."^[29][10] For Mood, she also received a Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award, Music - Original Score, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society Programme Breakthrough Award.^[30][31]

As of 2022, she lives in London.^[4]

• Lecky, Nicôle (2019). Superhoe. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84842-838-6.