Saira Choudhry (born July 1982) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Saira in BBC's ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', Naila in ITV's ''

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 ...

'' and Anita Roy in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' and Tegan in

Paul Abbott Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English screenwriter and producer. He became one of the most successful television writers in Britain following his work on popular series such as '' Cracker'' (1995, 1996, 1999) and ''Coronation Street ...

's '' No Offence''.

Early life

Saira Choudhry was born in

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Cru ...

, an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. She was born to an Irish mother and an Indian father, the latter of whom died when Choudhry was ten years old.

Career

Choudhry first came to prominence in 2008, when she joined the cast of ''

'' as Anita Roy, a part she played for 198 episodes, leaving the series in 2011. After appearing in shows such as ''

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', Choudhry starred as PC Tegan Thompson in Channel 4's comedy drama series '' No Offence'' from 2015 to 2018. On playing Tegan, Choudhry told the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'': " egans braver than me. She’s completely different to any character I’ve been known for before ..It was nice to play such a strong female character and I think the way

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

has written her and the other women in the show is amazing. Women and men love to see that." In 2020, Choudhry appeared as Saira Malik in the BBC drama series ''

''. In 2022, Choudhry appeared as Alice in one episode of BBC comedy ''Peacock'', alongside Allan Mustafa. Later in 2022, Choudhry starred as Nancy in the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

series '' Dodger'', a reimagining of the

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

’ character's life before ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

''. In February 2024, it was announced that Choudhry had been cast as maths teacher Nisha Chandra in '' Waterloo Road''.

Personal life

Chaudhry's mother, Fae, is a no-smoking advisor. In 2010, Chaudhry helped to launch that year's No Smoking drive. In 2014, Choudhry set up her own drama school, TV Talent. In December 2022, Choudhry announced her engagement to Marcus Jackson.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* 1982 births Living people British soap opera actresses Actresses from Manchester People from Middleton, Greater Manchester English people of Indian descent English television actresses 21st-century English actresses People from Cheetham Hill English people of Irish descent {{UK-tv-actor-1980s-stub