Veteran Nollywood actress Idowu Philips, popularly known as Iya Rainbow, has revealed that late theatre legend Hubert Ogunde persuaded her to resign from her nursing job and focus entirely on acting, a decision she says transformed her life and career.

Speaking in an interview with Feel Right News TV, the 83-year-old actress said she worked as a nurse while performing with the Osumare Theatre Group before Ogunde encouraged her to become a full-time actress.

According to her, she worked at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos General Hospital and other healthcare facilities while building her acting career.

Iya Rainbow recalled that Hubert Ogunde watched her perform in the Rabiatu Dance Drama at the Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos and was impressed by her performance.

She said Ogunde immediately advised her to leave nursing and dedicate herself fully to theatre.

“When we wanted to perform the Rabiatu Dance Drama, everybody knew Baba Ogunde was the king of dance drama. Before my husband, Augustine Ayanfemi Philips, died, he had trained us.

“We performed the drama in Lagos, and Baba Ogunde came with his three wives to watch. After the performance, he asked, ‘Wasn’t that Idowu who played Rabiatu? Wasn’t it Idowu who performed so well? And she said she didn’t want to leave nursing? Go and resign from nursing and take up theatre fully. You’re good at it.’

“His wives greeted me, and that was all. In 1986, I wrote and submitted my resignation letter.”

The actress also spoke about the support she received from Hubert Ogunde after the death of her husband, Augustine “Baba Osumare” Philips, founder of the Osumare Theatre Group, who died in 1984.

She recalled that Ogunde encouraged her to stop wearing mourning clothes whenever she visited his home.

“I salute Hubert Ogunde; may his soul rest in perfect peace. He was my husband’s boss and mentor. After my husband died, I always wore mourning clothes whenever I visited him.

“One day, he told me never to come to his house dressed like that again. His wife gave me another dress, and he asked them to tear the mourning dress.

“He told me, ‘You don’t mourn with the body but with the mind.’ He continued supporting my husband’s theatre group and stood by me.”

Iya Rainbow admitted that resigning from nursing was an emotional decision because many of her patients pleaded with her to stay.

“The patients I cared for refused to let me resign. They said even when I scolded them, I still took good care of them.

“There were many patients whose hospital bills I paid with my own money.”

The veteran actress also addressed the long-standing rumour that late actor Baba Agbako was the biological father of Fuji musician Pasuma.

She dismissed the claim as false, explaining that Pasuma’s late mother worked as an actress under Baba Agbako, leading many people to wrongly assume there was a family relationship.

According to Iya Rainbow, Pasuma was already a young man before his mother introduced him to members of the theatre community. She also praised the Fuji star for remaining loyal to those who shared a close relationship with his late mother even after becoming successful.

Iya Rainbow is regarded as one of the pioneers of the Yoruba film industry, with a career spanning more than five decades across stage and screen. She has featured in hundreds of productions and remains one of the industry’s most respected actresses.

Popular Nigerian skit maker and content creator, Taaooma, has revealed that her mother and the everyday behaviour of African parents are the biggest inspirations behind the comedy skits that made her famous.

Speaking with TheCable during the United States Mission in Nigeria’s 250th Independence Day celebration in Lagos, Taaooma admitted that while she sometimes runs out of creative ideas, she always finds a way to refresh herself.

According to her, most of her content comes from observing her mother and the funny habits of African parents.

She said she simply takes those real-life experiences and adds her own creative touch.

“It’s not like I don’t run out of ideas, but I obviously recoup and rejuvenate.

“But one of the major sources of my ideas is my mother and daily African parents, what they do and how they do their stuff.

“I just take the ideas and put my own spice on them. If you sit down and think about the things your mum does, there are so many funny and crazy things.”

Taaooma also explained that she is careful about the kind of content she consumes because it directly affects her creativity.

“I don’t just consume any kind of content. I consume things that I know will inspire me, things that are good for my brain, not just brainwash content,” she said.

The comedian also spoke about the origin of her popular character, Quadri, revealing that the role was never meant to become a recurring character.

According to her, she initially created Quadri for an advertisement or simply because she needed another neutral character. However, after noticing how much fans loved the character, she decided to keep using it.

She described Quadri as a typical Ilorin boy who is bold, rebellious and never afraid to speak his mind.

“I think I created the character for an advert or maybe I just needed another neutral character. When I did it, I realised people liked it.

“Quadri is just a regular Ilorin boy. They’re very rebellious. They can insult you. They don’t take nonsense. That’s just the Quadri character. Everybody has a Quadri character in their life.”

Taaooma dismissed claims that she intentionally creates characters to represent different ethnic groups across Nigeria.

She said her characters develop naturally rather than through deliberate planning.

“Even if I am intentional about putting Nigeria on the map with my content, I don’t think that part has been very intentional.

“I don’t sit down and say, ‘Let me pick a character from this region or that region.’ I just do it according to how it comes.”

Taaooma, whose real name is Apaokagi Maryam, rose to fame through comedy skits where she plays multiple characters inspired by everyday Nigerian family life. She welcomed her first child with her husband, filmmaker Abula, in 2024 and has continued expanding her career in filmmaking and digital entertainment.

Micheal Ward has been found not guilty of rape and sexual assault charges by a London court.

The 28-year-old actor was acquitted on Friday following a 10-day trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London.

A jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all five charges after about a day of deliberations. Ward, who had denied the allegations from the outset, became emotional as the verdicts were delivered.

He was cleared of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault linked to an encounter with a woman in January 2023.

The case stemmed from an incident involving a woman Ward met at a New Year’s Day party in Ilford, east London. The court heard that both later travelled separately to an after-party in Stratford.

Prosecutors alleged that Ward invited the woman into the back of a Mercedes, where he sexually assaulted and raped her.

The complainant, whose identity is protected by law, told the court she repeatedly indicated that she wanted to leave the vehicle. She said she delayed reporting the incident because she initially blamed herself and felt intimidated by Ward’s status as a well-known actor.

Throughout the trial, Ward maintained that the encounter was consensual.

Giving evidence, he said he and the woman had been “friendly and flirty” throughout the evening and that there was mutual interest between them.

He told the court:

“It was what we wanted. There was mutual interest.”

Ward also rejected claims that he pressured or forced the woman, insisting he believed both of them were willing participants.

His defence team challenged parts of the prosecution’s case, including forensic evidence that found no blood on the complainant’s clothing despite her testimony that she believed there had been blood on her leggings and underwear.

After hearing evidence from both sides, the jury accepted the defence’s case and acquitted Ward on all charges.

Top Boy Co-Star Testifies In His Defence

Ward’s Top Boy co-star, Jasmine Jobson, appeared as a defence witness during the trial.

She described Ward as a close friend, calling him “my brother, a beautiful soul and a kind-hearted man.”

Jobson also told the court that the lengthy legal proceedings had severely affected Ward’s acting career, saying he had effectively put his professional life on hold for more than three years while awaiting the outcome of the case.

Ward’s lawyer echoed the same view, stating that the actor is eager to resume his career following his acquittal.

The trial was briefly interrupted after an online content creator posted comments about evidence presented in court while proceedings were still ongoing.

The judge ordered the posts to be removed and took steps to ensure jurors had not been influenced by the online content before the verdict was reached.

Ward rose to prominence after starring in the film Blue Story before gaining international recognition for his role as Jamie Tovell in Top Boy.

The Jamaican-born British actor won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2020 and has also appeared in Small Axe, Empire of Light, The Book of Clarence and Eddington.

With the criminal proceedings now concluded, Ward is expected to resume his acting career after more than three years of legal uncertainty.