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Saira Choudhry

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Saira Choudhry
BornJuly 1982 (age 42)[1]
Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Saira Choudhry (born July 1982) is a British actress.[2] She is best known for portraying Saira in BBC's Life, Naila in ITV's Coronation Street and Anita Roy in Hollyoaks and Tegan in Paul Abbott's No Offence.[3][4]

Early life

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Saira Choudhry was born in Cheetham Hill, 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.[5]

Career

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Choudhry first came to prominence in 2008, when she joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Anita Roy,[6] a part she played for 198 episodes, leaving the series in 2011.

After appearing in shows such as Coronation Street[7] and Doctors, Choudhry starred as PC Tegan Thompson in Channel 4's comedy drama series No Offence from 2015 to 2018.[8] On playing Tegan, Choudhry told the Manchester Evening News: "[Tegan]'s 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 has written her and the other women in the show is amazing. Women and men love to see that."[9][10]

In 2020, Choudhry appeared as Saira Malik in the BBC drama series Life.[11][12][13]

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 series Dodger, a reimagining of the Dickens’ character's life before Oliver Twist.[14][15]

In February 2024, it was announced that Choudhry had been cast as maths teacher Nisha Chandra in Waterloo Road.[16]

Personal life

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Chaudhry's mother, Fae, is a no-smoking advisor. In 2010, Chaudhry helped to launch that year's No Smoking drive.[17][18]

In 2014, Choudhry set up her own drama school, TV Talent.[19][20]

In December 2022, Choudhry announced her engagement to Marcus Jackson.[21]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2008–2011 Hollyoaks Anita Roy 198 episodes
2012 Crime Stories Molly 1 episode
Credited as Saira Choudry
2013, 2015,
2017–2019 		Coronation Street Naila Badal 7 episodes
2014 Doctors Farah Episode: "The Girl in the Photograph"
2014 The Driver Tasha 1 episode
2015 Fungus the Bogeyman Carly Series 1 Episodes 1 & 2
2015–2018 No Offence PC Tegan Thompson 21 episodes
2017 Porridge Joanne 1 episode
Cold Feet Vedika Jawad Series 7 Episodes 1 & 7
2020 Life Saira Malik 6 episodes
2021 McDonald & Dodds Alliyah Episode: "The War of the Rose"[22]
2022 Peacock Alice 1 episode
Dodger Nancy 4 episodes, 1 episode uncredited
2024–present Waterloo Road Nisha Chandra

References

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  1. ^ "Company Check TV Talent". Company Check. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Who is Life actress and Michelle Keegan lookalike Saira Choudhry?". Entertainment Daily. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  3. ^ Heward, Emily (3 August 2015). "No Offence star Saira Choudhry on returning to the scene of the crime for series two". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Guz Khan - Saira Choudhry". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  5. ^ Kearney, Sarah-Louise (15 February 2017). "Saira Choudhry talks Acting, TV shows and Diversity". Desi Blitz. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  6. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (18 April 2009). "Choudhry praises 'Hollyoaks' race plot". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  7. ^ Bourne, Dianne (27 July 2018). "Corrie journalist Naila is back - this is where you've seen her before". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  8. ^ Griffin, Susan (26 September 2018). "No Offence star Saira Choudhry on life after Corrie and why she set up a drama academy for kids". I Love Manchester. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  9. ^ Heward, Emily (3 August 2015). "No Offence star Saira Choudhry on returning to the scene of the crime for series two". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Saira Choudhry: No Offence. Guz finds out about what it takes to play a feisty female cop and where to draw the line with Saira in a game of No Offence". BBC Asian Network. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Saira Choudhry - Life (TV Mini Series 2020)". IMDb. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  12. ^ Polianskaya, Alina (27 October 2020). "Life cast: Who stars with Saira Choudhry in BBC One drama series, and what time it's on tonight". iNews. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  13. ^ McLennan, Patrick (13 October 2020). "Life twist completely bamboozles viewers of the hit BBC One drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Production has wrapped on hit family comedy drama Dodger". BBC Media Centre. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  15. ^ Cremona, Patrick (7 February 2022). "Meet the cast of CBBC Dickens series Dodger". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  16. ^ Sansome, Jessica (27 February 2024). "Jason Manford says 'no idea' as it's revealed he's joined BBC's Waterloo Road". Manchester Evening News.
  17. ^ "Hollyoaks' actress Saira Choudhry launches World No Tobacco Day campaign". Liverpool Echo. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Soap star Saira Choudhry urges young women to kick the habit". The Scotsman. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Company Check TV Talent". Company Check. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  20. ^ Kearney, Sarah-Louise (15 February 2017). "Saira Choudhry talks Acting, TV shows and Diversity". Desi Blitz. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  21. ^ Tonks, Phoebe (31 December 2022). "Coronation Street star Saira Choudhry engaged to partner – 23 years after first meeting". OK.
  22. ^ Rhind-Tutt, Louise (18 January 2021). "Middleton actress Saira Choudhry to star in ITV's McDonald & Dodds". I Love Manchester. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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