Barbados broadcaster and actress Peta Alleyne dies at 65

Barbados broadcaster and actress Peta Alleyne has died at the age of 65, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley leading tributes to a cultural icon, the Jamaica Observer reported (https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/10/26/barbados-broadcaster-actress-peta-alleyne-dies-65/).

The cause of her death has not been disclosed, the Observer reported, citing the Caribbean Media Corporation.

“Some voices become part of the sound of home. Peta Alleyne’s was one of them. She held up a mirror to Barbadian life, with all our familiar habits and contradictions,” Mottley wrote in a statement posted on Facebook, according to CANA News (https://www.cananews.com/barbados-broadcaster-actress-dies/).

Alleyne began her broadcasting career at Barbados Rediffusion before becoming a familiar voice and face at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Observer reported. She gained widespread recognition for her performances in the popular comedy production Laff It Off, where she played Wilhelmina Herassofat for 30 years after joining the show in 1988, Nation News reported (https://nationnews.com/2026/10/26/laff-it-offs-peta-alleyne-passes/).

She remained with Laff It Off on stage until 2018, continued to write for the show, and in 2025 came out of retirement to write the stage adaptation of “Dem Come A Calling”, Nation News reported. Her career also spanned radio drama, including the National Cultural Foundation’s “How Hard the Times”.

Barbados Film and Television Association president Jamal Slocombe described her death as a profound loss to Barbados and its cultural community, while Minister of State Shane Archer paid tribute to her work with young people through the My Voice, My Barbados programme, Nation News reported.