Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh (born 9 November 1981 in Glasgow) 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

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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

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Film

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

Television

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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

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  1. ^ a b 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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