Rebecca Sarker (born 1975) is an English actress. After portraying the role of Nita Desai in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1999 to 2000, she made various appearances in television series including Rosemary and Thyme, Doctors, Holby City, The Golden Hour and EastEnders. In 2018, she began appearing in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Manpreet Sharma.
Rebecca Sarker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975 (age 48–49) Halifax, West Yorkshire, England[1] |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Television | |
| Children | 2[2] |
Early life
editSarker is from Halifax, West Yorkshire. Her parents met while working at a hospital in Nottingham; her father, Khaleque, is a GP, and her mother, Elizabeth, is a children's nurse. Her older brother is a dentist. Sarker attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. She pursued a degree in Modern Languages at Leeds University and spent a year teaching English in Spain, where she took up flamenco dancing.[3] She later trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.[4]
Career
editSarker made her acting debut in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Nita Desai in 1999.[5] Following her exit from the soap in 2000, she appeared in various television series, including two guest appearances on the BBC soap opera Doctors, appearances in the BBC medical dramas Holby City and Casualty and portraying Dr Newton in two episodes of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.[6] She then starred in the ITV miniseries The Golden Hour as Nina Osbourne in 2005.[7] In 2012, she made her film debut in the feature film John Carter.[1] In 2018, it was announced that she had been cast as series regular Manpreet Jutla in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.[8] Then in 2022, she competed in the revival of the ITV series The Games.[9]
Personal life
editSarker has two sons.[2]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Coronation Street | Nita Desai | Series regular; 122 episodes |
| 2002 | Believe Nothing | PC Haywain | Episode: "May as Well Face It, You're Addicted to Fudge" |
| 2003, 2009 | Doctors | Tepali Sharma / Deborah Mortimer | 3 episodes |
| 2003, 2006, 2017 | Holby City | Nina Sharma / Carla Harris / Gayle Travis | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Fallen | Nisha Mehta | Television film. Main role |
| 2005 | The Golden Hour | Nina Osbourne | Mini-series. Main role; 4 episodes |
| The Brief | DI Joan Fernandes | Episode: "The Architect's Wife" | |
| Broken News | Correspondant | Mini-series; Episode: "Hijack" | |
| 2006 | Rosemary & Thyme | Blanca Parfitt | Episode: "Racquet Espanol" |
| 2007 | EastEnders | Dr. Newton | 2 episodes |
| 2010, 2014 | Casualty | Alison Roberts / DCI Jackie Prior | 2 episodes: "Leave Me Alone" and "The Lies We Tell" |
| 2012 | John Carter | Stayman #1 / Navigator | Feature film |
| Twenty Twelve | TV Reporter, Hilary | 2 episodes: "Boycott: Part 1" and "Clarence House" | |
| 2018 | Dark Heart | Smita Williams | Episode: "Dead Men Don't Pay Debts: Part 1" |
| 2018–present | Emmerdale | Manpreet Sharma | Series regular |
| 2022 | The Games | Herself – Contestant | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Celebrity Catchphrase | Herself – Contestant | Episode: "Les Dennis, Rebecca Sarker and Jordan Stephens" |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2022 British Soap Awards | Best Leading Performer | Nominated | [10] |
| 27th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Nominated | [11] | |
| 2023 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (shared with Kevin Mathurin) | Nominated | [12] |
References
edit- ^ a b Hulme, Charlotte (28 September 2020). "Everything you need to know about Emmerdale's Manpreet Jutla actress Rebecca Sarker". OK!. Reach plc. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ a b Alexander, Susannah (21 December 2021). "Emmerdale star Rebecca Sarker opens up over family life". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Wills, Colin (6 February 2000). "My heart sank when; Corrie offered me; Rebecca Sarker thought Nita Desai might be Coronation Street's token Asian - but she couldn't have been more wrong". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Rebecca Sarker". Corrie. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ Lindsay, Duncan (2 April 2019). "Remember when Emmerdale's Jai and Manpreet were brother and sister in Coronation Street?". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Westbrook, Caroline (27 March 2019). "Who is Emmerdale's Rebecca Sarker – who plays Manpreet – and where have you seen her before?". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Allcock, Beth (31 October 2018). "Rebecca Sarker career: Emmerdale's Manpreet Jutla actress' Hollywood roles before playing Rishi Sharma's love interest on ITV soap and why fans recognise her". OK!. Reach plc. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Rodrigues, Charlotte (29 January 2021). "Who is Manpreet's daughter in Emmerdale? What happened to Aiesha?". Entertainment Daily. Digitalbox. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Jones, John (9 May 2022). "Emmerdale actress Rebecca Sarker's forgotten roles and private family life". YorkshireLive. (Reach plc). Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Houghton, Rianne (21 April 2022). "British Soap Awards 2022 reveals longlist for viewer categories". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ Morris, Lauren (24 May 2022). "NTA 2022 longlist revealed as David Tennant and Sex Education nominated". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (4 July 2023). "Inside Soap Awards 2023 announces full list of nominees". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 July 2023.