Shobna Gulati — Bellazon

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Shobna Gulati

Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966[1]) is a British actress, writer, and dancer of Indian origin, best known for playing Anita in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies, and Sunita Alahan in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2006, a role to which she returned at the end of 2009. She is also known for being one of very few actors to have appeared in both Coronation Street and its rival series EastEnders for the BBC (in 2000).

Early life and career

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Gulati was born in Oldham, Lancashire to parents of Indian descent, she has a degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern politics from the University of Manchester.[1]

In the late 1990s, she received excellent reviews for her work in Victoria Wood's BBC sitcom dinnerladies; in 2001, she appeared in the short film Shadowscan, directed by Tinge Krishnan, which won a BAFTA Award; and in 2004 Gulati was nominated for a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for her work in the play Dancing within walls, which was staged at the Contact Theatre in Manchester.

Gulati has also appeared on the TV quiz shows Call My Bluff, Have I Got News for You, The Weakest Link and as Diana Ross in Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes. In early 2006, Gulati took part in the Reality TV series Soapstar Superstar.

After she left Coronation Street in 2006, Gulati played Nisha Clayton, a recurring role in the final series of Where the Heart Is and made appearances in New Street Law and the one-off comedy drama Magnolia which was written by Dave Spikey for the BBC's Comedy Playhouse series.

In October 2006, Gulati appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as part of a short skit featured in The Secret Policeman's Ball. In the skit, Gulati and co-star Nitin Ganatra play a holidaying couple who are under the mistaken belief Guantanamo Bay is a holiday resort. The sketch also starred American actors Chevy Chase and Seth Green.

Gulati has recently been seen as one of many storytellers in the CBBC revival of Jackanory and in the UK tour of the hit play Girls Night by Louise Roche. She also appeared on the Channel 4 special Empire's Children', tracing her family's history during the partition of India.

In summer 2007, she appeared in Pretend You Have Big Buildings at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

In 2008 Gulati made her debut as a filmmaker, producing the short film Akshay for the motiroti's 60x60 Secs.[2] This was shortlisted for the Satyajit Ray, short film awards.

On June 11, 2009 she appeared in the BBC1 programme Celebrity MasterChef. She did the first stage tour of dinnerladies in early 2009 and she has recently appeared as a guest story teller for (cbbc, Bedtime Stories).

In November 2010, She was a guest panellist on ITVs flagship show Loose Women, to celebrate fifty years of Coronation Street, and in June 2011 she was a guest on Countdown.

Personal life

Gulati is the daughter of a doctor who arrived in Oldham from India in the 1960s.[3] She has a younger brother, Rajesh, and older sisters Sushma and Hema[4]

She married the architect Anshu Srivastava in a Hindu ceremony on 10 November 1990 but the couple divorced in May 1994.[5] She lived separately from her husband and became pregnant with Akshay.[6][7] From 1999 to 2003 she went out with ex-Emmerdale actor Gary Turner.[8]

Gulati has a good working knowledge of six languages and is a vocal supporter of Asian women's rights and various anti-racism campaigns.[9][10] She works on female body image issues.[11] She is a supporter and a season ticket holder of Manchester United.[citation needed]

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leaving the ITV studios, London- April 11th, 2012

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