Shabana Bakhsh

Last updated August 11, 2025

Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh is a Scottish actress of Pakistani descent who has appeared in soap operas such as River City and Doctors . Her best known role is in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road starring as English teacher Jasmine Koreshi.

Biography

Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh made her acting debut in River City as Zara Malik, who moved to Aberdeen.^[1] Her parents are of Pakistani origin. She went on to appear in Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss .^[2]^[3] She then became a regular in Doctors as Tasha Verma.^[4] She appeared in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road , as newly qualified English teacher Jasmine Koreshi. She currently lives in Glasgow. In 2009 travelled around Scottish schools with TAG theatre company in the production "Yellow Moon", a play by David Greig, where she plays the character Silent Leila.

She has been an outspoken critic of the BBC, saying that they are afraid to write for ethnic minorities.^[1] She has also campaigned for women's rights in the Asian community.^{[ citation needed ]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2004	Ae Fond Kiss...	Tahara Khan
2011	Perfect Sense	Nurse
2014	Honeycomb Lodge	Azra
2018	Super November	Mona

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002–2003	River City	Zara Malik	3 episodes
2004	The Afternoon Play	Yasmeela Khan	1 episode, "Glasgow Dreams"
2004–2005	Doctors	Tasha Verma	Series regular
2005	Taggart	Layla	1 episode, "Cause to Kill"
2007-2009	Waterloo Road	Jasmine Koreshi	Series regular
2017	The Replacement	Interview Panel	1 episode

References

1 2 Taylor, Joanna (3 January 2004). "BBC attacked over Asian plotlines; River City soap star criticises Beeb scriptwriters". The Stage. p. 3.
↑ Miller, Phil (21 November 2003). "BBC 'scared of Asian actors';Attack on attitudes to River City cast". The Herald.
↑ Schofield, Kevin (16 November 2007). "Celebrities present the awards". The Herald.
↑ "Class warfare leaves TV teacher Shabana Bakhsh in a fury". Daily Record . (Reach plc). 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.

External links

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[critic-1] 1 2 Taylor, Joanna (3 January 2004). "BBC attacked over Asian plotlines; River City soap star criticises Beeb scriptwriters". The Stage. p. 3.

[2] Miller, Phil (21 November 2003). "BBC 'scared of Asian actors';Attack on attitudes to River City cast". The Herald.

[3] Schofield, Kevin (16 November 2007). "Celebrities present the awards". The Herald.

[4] "Class warfare leaves TV teacher Shabana Bakhsh in a fury". Daily Record . (Reach plc). 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.

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