Ashling O'Shea

Ashling O'Shea is a British-Irish actress. She initially completed a university degree in Theatre Studies with the intention of going into Theatre Therapy. O'Shea then trained and took acting classes whilst doing other jobs, and she began working with Little Fish Theatre, who gave her first acting role outside of university. From 2015 to 2021, O'Shea performed in various stage productions, including ''My Name is Rachel Corrie'', ''Keeping Faith'', ''Dear Children, Sincerely'', ''Eris'' and ''Run(a)way'', among others. O'Shea appeared in the short film ''Screening'' (2017) and made a guest appearance in the web series ''Bed&Bridget'' (2019). In 2021, she had a guest role in ''Temple'' and that same year she portrayed Ismene in the digital production of ''Antigone''. O'Shea was also cast as Rumi Joshi, a main character of the eight-part television series ''Rebel Cheer Squad'', which was released in 2022. From 2022 to 2024, O'Shea portrayed regular character Nadira Valli on the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Following her departure from the soap, O'Shea performed in ''The Lesson'' at Theatre503 in early 2024, and portrayed Ursula Wilson in the 2025 television series '' The Crow Girl''.

Career

O'Shea loved acting and wanted to be an actor from a young age, but did not think it was likely to happen. She went to complete a degree in Theatre Studies at university and was planning to go into Theatre therapy as a career. O'Shea then began acting professionally and trained "on the job", taking affordable acting classes whilst also working other jobs. In 2022, O'Shea explained in an interview that she did not train in a "traditional sense", and believed that part-time courses and young companies are a great choice for actors who wish to refine their skills in a more financially feasible way. O'Shea began working with Little Fish Theatre, which she continued to work with as of 2022. The company gave O'Shea her first acting role outside of university. O'Shea praised the company, referring to it as her "industry support system and lifelong friends" that emboldened her as a performer but "nurtured" her as a workshop facilitator.

In 2015, O'Shea portrayed the lead role of Rachel Corrie in the play ''My Name is Rachel Corrie'', which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, O'Shea portrayed Sahira in a Rehearsed Reading of ''White'' at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Between 2017 and 2021, O'Shea performed in various theatre productions, including ''Keeping Faith'', ''Dear Children, Sincerely'', ''A Family Affair'', ''Eris'', ''A Missed Call Away'' and ''Chameleon'', among others. The Irish play ''Eris'' was one of O'Shea's favourite theatre productions, due to being half-Irish herself and because it was performed at one of O'Shea's favourite theatres. In 2017, O'Shea portrayed Anna in the short film ''Screening'', and she later played Cleo in one episode of the 2019 web series ''Bed&Bridget''.

O'Shea made a guest appearance in the second series of the British medical crime drama ''Temple'', which aired in 2021. That same year, O'Shea portrayed Ismene in Exeter Northcott Theatre's digital production adaptation of ''Antigone''. O'Shea was also cast as a main character, Rumi Joshi, on the British teen thriller ''Rebel Cheer Squad'', a sequel to '' Get Even''. The drama consisted of eight episode, which premiered on BBC iPlayer on 8 February 2022. The series was filmed at Bolton School. O'Shea enjoyed playing Rumi, calling her the "clown" of the group, and O'Shea thought of her co-stars as a "little family" that she had fallen in love with.

In March 2022, it was announced that O'Shea had joined the cast of the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' as Nadira Valli, a matchmaker and love interest and old childhood friend for Shaq Qureshi (Omar Malik). O'Shea called joining the soap a "surreal" experience, explaining, "I've grown up watching the show, and their hard-hitting storylines, so it's a privilege as an actor to be able to be a part of that legacy". O'Shea described Nadira as having "huge heart, a sarcastic mouth and a lot going on in her mind", and she was excited for viewers to get to know her. O'Shea also explained that she was enjoying working with Malik, saying that they "clicked" from the moment they met. O'Shea related to the character and was happy to be making the representation onscreen more authentic, adding that as a child she would not have believed that she would see a "Brown Queer woman playing a Brown Queer character" on a national television show.

O'Shea made her first appearance as Nadira on 24 March of that year. During O'Shea's time on the soap, Nadira's storylines on the soap have included her engagement to Shaq, an affair with Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw), being outed on her wedding day, a romantic relationship with Lacey Lloyd (Annabelle Davis), being manipulated by Rayne Royce ( Jemma Donovan), becoming a suspect in Rayne's murder and having a fling with Camilla Bassington-Hart (Dylan Morris). O'Shea also portrayed Nadira in a special ''Hollyoaks'' episode focussing on LGBTQ+ solidarity, which was broadcast in November 2023. Speaking about the episode, O'Shea explained in an interview, "As a Queer Brown woman, I'm very aware that my moments of joy and safety are a result of people before me fighting, I owe that same fight to the people around me and the people that come after me. I'm proud of ''Hollyoaks'' for shedding some light on this and encouraging us all to look into the experiences of people outside of our own echo chamber." O'Shea, alongside her co-star Davis, later departed ''Hollyoaks'' and last appeared on 10 January 2024, with her exit not being announced beforehand. Nadira's exit storyline saw the character reunite with Lacey and move to Norwich with her. O'Shea was happy that Nadira had a "happy ending" as she felt that the character had been in a vulnerable position and grieved a lot during her time on the soap. When reporting on the departure, Asyia Iftikhar from ''PinkNews'' called Nadira and Lacey an "important LGBTQ+ couple".

Following her departure from ''Hollyoaks'', O'Shea returned to theatre and portrayed "confident" character Kayleigh in ''The Lesson'', which was performed at Theatre503 in early 2024. O'Shea also portrayed Ursula Wilson in the television series '' The Crow Girl'', which was released in 2025.

Personal life

O'Shea is half Irish and also of Sri Lankan descent. O'Shea identifies as Queer. O'Shea enjoys cooking and considers herself a foodie, explaining that she loves eating and cooking can improve her mood, calling it her "me-time". O'Shea also enjoys spending time and having conversations with other people.

Credits

Filmography

Theatre credits

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:OShea, Ashling
Living people
English soap opera actresses
English television actresses
21st-century English LGBTQ people
English LGBTQ actors
21st-century Irish actresses
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century British actresses
Alumni of the University of Essex
English people of Irish descent
English people of Sri Lankan descent