Ashling O'Shea

Last updated
Ashling O'Shea
OccupationActress
Years active2015–
AgentMacFarlane Chard
Television Rebel Cheer Squad
Hollyoaks
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)

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 feel 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 .

Contents

Career

O'Shea loved acting and wanted to be an actor from a young age, but did not think it was likely to happen. [1] She went to complete a degree in Theatre Studies at university and was planning to go into Theatre therapy as a career. [1] O'Shea then began acting professionally and trained "on the job", taking affordable acting classes whilst also working other jobs. [1] 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 "amazing" for people who wish to "hone their craft in a more financially viable way". [1] O'Shea began working with Little Fish Theatre, which she continued to work with as of 2022. [1] The company gave O'Shea her first acting role outside of university. [1] O'Shea praised the company, referring to it as her "industry support system and lifelong friends" that "not only emboldened me as a performer but nurtured me into a workshop facilitator". [1]

"One particular stand-out highlight would probably be having Ramanique Ahluwalia as a love interest. We got to be what we never got to see when we were younger, we got each other through the hard parts and laughed our way through the rest. To be able to share that experience with another Queer woman of the Global Majority is something I will forever be grateful for."

–O'Shea on her highlight from Rebel Cheer Squad (2022) [1]

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. [2] The following year, O'Shea portrayed Sahira in a Rehearsed Reading 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. [2] [3] [4] 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. [1] 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. [2] [5]

O'Shea made a guest appearance in the second series of the British medical crime drama Temple , which aired in 2021. [6] That same year, O'Shea portrayed Ismene in Exeter Northcott Theatre's digital production adaptation of Antigone . [7] O'Shea was also cast as a main character, Rumi Joshi, on the British teen thriller Rebel Cheer Squad , a sequel to Get Even . [8] The drama consisted of eight episode, which premiered on BBC iPlayer on 8 February 2022. [8] The series was filmed at Bolton School. [9] O'Shea enjoyed playing Rumi, calling her the "clown" of the group, and O'Shea thought of her co-stars as a "little family", adding that she had "never fallen in love with a group of people" like she did on that show. [1]

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). [10] 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". [10] 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. [10] O'Shea also explained that she was enjoying working with Malik, saying that they "clicked" from the moment they met. [10] O'Shea related to the character and was happy to be making the representation onscreen more authentic, adding that as a kid she would not have believed that she would see a "Brown Queer woman playing a Brown Queer character on a national TV show". [1]

O'Shea performed at Theatre 503 in 2024. Theatre 503.jpg
O'Shea performed at Theatre 503 in 2024.

O'Shea made her first appearance as Nadira on 24 March of that year. [10] [11] 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). [12] [13] [14] [15] O'Shea also portrayed Nadira in a special Hollyoaks episode focussing on LGBTQ+ solidarity, which was broadcast in November 2023. [16] [17] [15] 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." [15] O'Shea, alongside her co-star Davis, later departed Hollyoaks and last appeared on 10 January 2024, with her exit not being announced beforehand. [18] Nadira's exit storyline saw the character reunite with Lacey and move to Norwich with her. [19] 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. [19] When reporting on the departure, Asyia Iftikhar from PinkNews called Nadira and Lacey an "important LGBTQ+ couple". [20]

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. [2] [21] O'Shea will also portray Ursula Wilson in the upcoming television series The Crow Girl . [2]

Personal life

O'Shea is half Irish and also of Sri Lankan descent. [2] O'Shea identifies as Queer. [15] [2] O'Shea enjoys cooking and considers herself a foodie, explaining that she loves eating but that "just spending a few hours in the kitchen can completely turn around any bad mood for me. It's my me-time". [1] O'Shea also enjoys spending time and having conversations with other people. [1]

Credits

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2017ScreeningAnnaShort film [2]
2019Bed&BridgetCleoGuest role [2]
2021 Temple Claire HarrisGuest role [7]
2021 Antigone Ismene Digital Production [7]
2022 Rebel Cheer Squad Rumi JoshiMain role [8]
2022–24 Hollyoaks Nadira Valli Regular role [10]
2025 The Crow Girl Ursula WilsonUpcoming television series [2]

Theatre credits

YearProductionVenueRole
2015My Name is Rachel Corrie Edinburgh Festival Fringe Rachel Corrie
2016White (rehearsed reading) Mercury Theatre, Colchester Sahira
2017Keeping FaithBechdel TheatreLana
201717 to the Power of ThreeLittle Fish TheatreSamreen
2017Dear Children, SincerelyProject AriadneKrishanthi Kumaraswamy/ Journalist/ Little Girl
2017A Family Affair Vienna's English Theatre Zainab
2018ErisAirlock, Bunker TheatreCallista
2018Where the Lines Are DrawnLittle Fish TheatreAmina/ Ollie
2019Andromeda Nottingham Playhouse Anida
2019Chameleon Southwark Playhouse Chameleon
2020A Missed Call Away Southwark Playhouse Jamie
2021Run(a)way Young Vic Mona
2024The Lesson Theatre503 Kayleigh
Sources: [2] [3] [4] [21] [1]

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References

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  9. ↑ Nadeem, Alima (25 February 2022). "Rebel Cheer Squad lands Bolton School another starring role". The Bolton News . Newsquest . Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bacon, Jess (8 March 2022). "Hollyoaks casts Ashling O'Shea as new love interest for Shaq". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Knight, Dominic (8 March 2022). "Glynis Barber and Ashling O'Shea join Hollyoaks". ATV Today. ATV Network Limited. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  12. ↑ Patterson, Stephen (22 August 2023). "Hollyoaks spoilers: Romance confirmed of Nadira Valli and Lacey Lloyd as they kiss – but tragedy lurks". Metro . DMG Media . Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Mitchell, Harriet (24 September 2023). "Hollyoaks' Ashling O'Shea reveals how Rayne's death affects Nadira and Lacey romance". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  14. ↑ Morgan, Laura (21 November 2023). "Hollyoaks spoilers: Cheating Camilla is Caught Out!". What to Watch . Future plc . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Hollyoaks - Interview with Ashling O'Shea (Nadira Valli)". Channel 4 . Channel Four Television Corporation. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  16. ↑ James, Alistair (7 November 2023). "The Hollyoaks cast on 'conversion therapy' storyline ahead of special episode". Attitude . Stream Publishing. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Sarrubba, Stefania (28 July 2022). "Hollyoaks airs another affair twist for Juliet and Nadira". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ↑ Cooper, Brenna (10 January 2024). "Hollyoaks airs exit for regular character in streaming episode". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 7 February 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  19. 1 2 Chase, Stephanie (12 January 2024). "Hollyoaks stars speak out on Nadira and Lacey exits". Digital Spy . Hearst Communications . Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Iftikhar, Asyia (12 January 2024). "Hollyoaks airs exit for this important LGBTQ+ couple". PinkNews . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  21. 1 2 Basaba, Lucy. "The Lesson @ Theatre503 Review". Theatrefullstop. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
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