Madhav Sharma (born 12 November 1939) is an Indian-British actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and first came to public attention playing a prisoner named Patel in the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who in 1973. Since then he has appeared in a number of plays and films over the years.

Early life

Sharma studied at the Scottish Church College in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India and later at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, London. Following the death of his mother, Sharma was raised in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

by his grandfather and aunt, who was an independence activist and social activist on behalf of

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

children. His uncles, K. Venkataraman, K. S. Sanjivi and K. Swaminathan, all have been conferred the Padma Awards of India in various fields.

Career

After graduating from RADA, Sharma decided to pursue a career in theatre and changed his stage surname to Sharma. He played the role of Patel, a lunar penal colony prisoner in the third episode of the 1973 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story '' Frontier in Space'', Patel was a member of the Peace Party and had been arrested for sabotaging a military base. He played Siddique in the 2002 theatrical production ''Calcutta Kosher''. He would next enact the role of Sir Toby Belch in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', in the West End. He voiced the character, Vikram, in the 2012 survival horror game ZombiU. He played the part of Prem Mandal in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''. He later joined ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', with his role Arshad Ahmed commencing on 1 January 2018. He departed the show on 1 November 2019. He appeared as Suresh Dhanar, in an episode called "Who Wants to be Told Bad News" from the seventies TV series '' Public-Eye''.

Personal life

Sharma was formerly married to the British actress

Jenny Seagrove Jennifer Ann Seagrove (born 4 July 1957) is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and first came to attention playing the lead in a television dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's '' A Woman of Substance'' ...

Filmography

Film

References

External links

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Madhav Sharma
at Theatricalia Living people 1939 births Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century British male actors British male film actors British male stage actors British male television actors Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 21st-century British male actors {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub