Varada Sethu (born Varada Sethumadhavan, 12 May 1992) is a British actress. Her credits include '' Sket'' (2010), '' English: An Autumn in London'' (2012), ''

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 ...

'' (2015), '' New Blood'' (2016), '' Doctor Foster'' (2017), '' Hanna'' (2019), '' Strike Back: Vendetta'' (2020), ''

Jurassic World Dominion ''Jurassic World Dominion'' is a 2022 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael (filmmaker), Emily Carmichael from a story by Derek Connolly and Tre ...

'' (2022), and ''

Annika Annika is a feminine given name with multiple origins in different cultures. It is a Swedish diminutive for Anna, derived in the 15th century from Anneke, a Dutch and Northern Germanic diminutive of Anna. Swedish-born retired professional golf ...

'' (2023). She portrayed

Detective Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Brit ...

Mishal Ali in ''

Hard Sun ''Hard Sun'' is a pre-apocalyptic British crime drama television series, created and written by Neil Cross, starring Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess as the principal characters, DI Elaine Renko and DCI Charlie Hicks. The series is a BBC co-pro ...

'' (2018), Cinta Kaz in the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

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'' series '' Andor'' (2022–2025), and Belinda Chandra in ''

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 ...

'' (2025).

Early life

Sethu and her twin sister Abhaya were born in Kerala, India, and are of

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

ancestry. Sethu's parents are doctors. She moved to the North East of England at a young age and she grew up in Benton, Tyne and Wear, near

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. Sethu attended

Dame Allan's Schools Dame Allan's Schools is a collection of Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day schools in Fenham, in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It comprises a Junior School, Senior School and a sixth form, Sixth Form. Founded in 1 ...

and was a member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

. During her final year of

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

, Sethu won the 2010 Miss Newcastle competition. She went on to study

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, later switching to

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

. Sethu has been performing the

Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...

traditions of both

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

and

Mohiniyattam ''Mohiniyattam'' is an Indian classical dance form originating from the state of Kerala. The dance gets its name from Mohini – the female enchantress avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who helps the devas prevail over the asuras using h ...

from a young age. Sethu continued her acting education at the Identity School of Acting in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

In 2010, Sethu made her debut appearance on screen in the short film ''Impressions'' as Samena. In 2011, Sethu landed the role of Kiran in the feature film '' Sket'', then as Meghana Scariah in '' English: An Autumn in London'' in 2012. In 2015 she made an appearance as PC Kylie Green in the 2000 TV series ''

''. Her career continued in 2016 appearing as Peaseblossom in a 2016 TV movie version of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. Also in 2016, Sethu acted alongside in ''

Now You See Me 2 ''Now You See Me 2'' (also known as ''Now You See Me: The Second Act'') is a 2016 American heist film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Ed Solomon, based on a story by Solomon and Peter Chiarelli. It is the sequel to '' Now You See Me'' ( ...

'' and as an Indian nurse in '' New Blood''. In 2017, Sethu appeared as Aisha in two episodes of '' Doctor Foster''. In 2018, Sethu starred as DS Mishal Ali for six episodes in the BBC apocalyptic TV crime series ''

''. In 2019, Sethu performed as a series regular in season seven of '' Strike Back: Revolution'' as Lance Corporal Manisha Chetri of the British Army. In 2022, She played rebel Cinta Kaz in both seasons of ''Andor''. In 2025, Sethu portrayed the companion Belinda Chandra in ''

'' alongside

Ncuti Gatwa Mizero Ncuti Gatwa ( ; born 15 October 1992) is a Rwandan-Scottish actor. After a screen Breakthrough role, breakthrough portraying Eric Effiong in Sex Education (TV series), ''Sex Education'' (2019–2023), he rose to further prominence as the ...

as the

Fifteenth Doctor The Fifteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa in two series and two specials. Within the series' narr ...

in Season 2. Prior to this, she played Mundy Flynn in the Season 1 episode " Boom".

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

2016 Portfolio - Varada Sethu
*
Vimeo showreel 2015Vimeo spotlight 2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sethu, Varada Living people 1992 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of the Identity School of Acting Alumni of the University of Bristol British people of Malayali descent English film actresses English people of Indian descent English television actresses Indian emigrants to England National Youth Theatre members People educated at Dame Allan's School