Nathalie Emmanuel, who starred as Missandei in Game Of Thrones, came to Wolverhampton to help run a special yoga class at Gorgeous Nightclub.
The 31-year-old, who has also appeared in the Maze Runner and Fast and Furious films after starting her career in Hollyoaks, has been practicing yoga since she was 19 and trained as a teacher two years ago.
Nathalie put on a session for members of TNB Connect, a project providing free support, education and opportunities in a friendly space to people identifying as trans or non-binary.
The Essex-born actor led a full socially-distanced session, with all those participating at least a metre apart.
She said she felt the session had helped challenge people to do something they hadn’t done before.
She said: “It was really exciting to be here as people challenged themselves today as part of this session.
“It was just lovely to communicate and share energy and love with a group of people I’d never met before and with a community I’m still learning a lot about.
“From today, you could really see how people want to support and elevate and lift up and share positive vibes and it was really lovely to be here today.”
Nathalie said it was only the second time she’d been back to Wolverhampton since a night out in the city several years ago, but described it as “very warm and welcoming with a lot of sweet people.”
Her link to Wolverhampton had come through meeting Nate Watson, founder of TNB Connect, at a celebrity Soccer Six tournament 12 years ago.
She said: “Nate got in contact with me a few years ago on Facebook after his transition and I’ve been working with him to promote his project.
“It’s amazing to see what has been created in such a short period of time and Nate has a great team around him and an amazing support network, so it was really great to be here today.”
Nate, who set up TNB Connect at the start of the year and is believed to be the UK’s first transgender rapper, said: “It’s amazing to have someone with a platform like Nathalie’s to do something like this to support trans and non-binary people.
“That kind of support is something we really need right now, so it’s greatly appreciated.
“We are planning to run more events in the future to raise awareness and provide more support for people going through the transition.”
Nathalie said she would be willing to help in the future with fundraising and future yoga events as a way to give it future exposure.
She said: “I talk about being a trans ally, but it’s one thing to talk about it and another to actively doing something, so I will help wherever I can.”
