Saira Choudhry | |
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Born | July 1982 (age 43) [1] Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2008–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]
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]
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]
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]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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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 |