Ayesha Dharker

Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989 François Villiers film Manika, une vie plus tard. She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many television roles in the UK, particularly in Cutting It and Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee, in which she co-starred with Meera Syal. In the international award-winning film The Terrorist (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the National Film Award for Best Actress in India and the Cairo Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress. Dharker's most internationally recognised role came in 2002 when she played Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo, in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. In the same year she appeared in the critically acclaimed Anita and Me. Dharker starred in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams, both in London's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in The Mistress of Spices (2005). She has appeared in the episode "Planet of the Ood" of the long-running BBC sci-fi television series, Doctor Who as Solana Mercurio. In 2006, she played the role of Asha in the film Outsourced. In 2008, she played the role of Tara Mandal in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. In 2010, she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar in the BBC's comedy-drama series The Indian Doctor. In 2017, Dharker began playing Nina Karnik in a returning role on the long-running BBC drama Holby City. In 2020, she appeared as Dr Sarai in The Father, which was nominated for an Academy Award. On 16 January 2022, Dharker appeared in Vera in the episode "As the Crow Flies" in the role of Anika Naidu. Audiobooks Dharker was the narrator for the audiobook version of Brick Lane by Monica Ali (2003).