Sunetra Sarker

Sunetra Sarker (born 25 June 1973)[1] is an English actress, known for her roles as Nisha Batra in Brookside, Anji Mittel in No Angels, Zoe Hanna in Casualty and Kaneez Paracha in Ackley Bridge. In 2014, she took part in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Brendan Cole.

Sunetra Sarker
Born (1973-06-25) 25 June 1973
Liverpool, Merseyside, England
EducationBrunel University London
OccupationActress
Years active1988–present
Spouse(s)Nick Corfield (m. 2003; div. 2009)
Scott Carey (m. 2018)
Children1

Early life

Sarker was born in Liverpool into a Indian family.[2] Her father is a retired doctor,[3] and her mother Bisakha taught Indian classical dance,[4] for which she was awarded an MBE in December 2013.[5] Sarker has a degree in Information Systems for Business in Europe from Brunel University London.[6] Her great-grandfather was the lawyer, novelist and political activist Nares Sen-Gupta.[7][8] She is of Bengali origin.[9]

Career

Sarker has played a wide variety of roles in her career. Her initial success came when she was cast as Nisha Batra in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 1988 to 1990 and then returned in 2000 until 2003.[10] Sarker also starred in the regional soap opera London Bridge.[11] This was followed by her portrayal of Anji Mittel in No Angels from 2004 to 2006.[12]

Sarker's next notable role was portraying the part of Clare Burns in the BBC drama The Chase,[13] until the show was pulled after its second series. In 2007, Sarker was a contestant on the celebrity cooking series Celebrity MasterChef.[14] Subsequently, Sarker played the role of Dr Zoe Hanna in the BBC medical drama Casualty from December 2007 until May 2016.[15] After her departure was announced, Sarker made a promise to co-star Jamie Davis that she would return for one episode when he decided to leave the programme, a promise she honoured in 2018, appearing in an episode broadcast on 13 January.[16]

In 2017, she played DCI Jane Burr in the second series of ITV's Safe House.[17] Since 2017, Sarker has starred in the Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge, for which she received the award for Best TV Character at the Asian Media Awards.[18]

Strictly Come Dancing
Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 12)

In autumn 2014, Sarker competed in the twelfth series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with New Zealand professional dancer Brendan Cole.[19] In the first week, the couple danced a Tango to "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" by Robert Palmer and scored 24.[20] In the second week they danced a Cha-cha-cha to "Million Dollar Bill" by Whitney Houston and scored 26.[21] In the third week the couple danced the American Smooth to "The Way You Look Tonight" from the film Swing Time and scored 40, including a 9 from head judge Len Goodman.[22] Because of Sunetra's filming schedule, the routine had to be learned in a single day.[23]

In the fourth week the couple danced the Salsa to "Turn the Beat Around" by Vicki Sue Robinson and scored 27.[24] In the fifth week the couple danced the Viennese Waltz to "Anyone Who Had a Heart" by Cilla Black and scored 30.[25] In week six, opening the show, they danced a Jive to "Tainted Love" by Gloria Jones and scored 27.[26] In week seven they danced a Foxtrot to "All of Me" by John Legend and scored 31.[27] In week eight, at Blackpool, they danced a Samba to "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by the Scissor Sisters and scored 30.[28] The couple were voted into the dance-off against Judy Murray and Anton du Beke, but were unanimously saved by the judges. In week nine they danced a Waltz, to "Last Request" by Paolo Nutini, and again scored 30, placing them in one from last place. The couple was voted into the dance-off with Steve Backshall and Ola Jordan, but were saved by three votes to one from the judges. In week ten, they danced a Rhumba to "The Girl from Ipanema" by Michael Bolton. The couple was again voted into the dance-off, against Mark Wright and Karen Hauer, but were unanimously voted out by the judges.[29]

Personal life

On 23 February 2017, Sarker and her ancestors were the subject of an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? shown on BBC One in which she traced them to Bengal.[9] She learned about her family's involvement in the struggle for independence in India and one of her ancestor's connection to Gandhi.[9] Travelling next to Bangladesh, she visits her great-grandmother's ancestral village where she discovers the story of how her family were caught up in the Bangladeshi 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.[30] Sarker married Nick Corfield in 2003 and they have a son, born in 2005.[31] Sarker and Corfield divorced in 2009.[31] In 2018, Sarker married Scott Carey.[31]

Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1988–1991, 2000–2003BrooksideNisha Batra
1995London BridgeJyoti Solanki
1999Cold FeetClare
2000Playing the FieldDr Meera
2003DoctorsDonna Sykes
2003 EmmerdalePriti Chowdry4 episodes
2003 Eyes DownKaren2 episodes
2004The Smoking RoomMonique
2004 Holby CityNanda Veer1 episode
2004–2006No AngelsAnji Mittel
2005–2008IdealSangita
2006New Street LawNita Shibani
2006–2007The ChaseClare Burns
2007MobileDI Lorraine Conil
2007 Celebrity MasterChefContestant
2007–2016, 2018CasualtyDr. Zoe HannaAlso directed two episodes
2012Doctor WhoIndira1 episode ("Dinosaurs on a Spaceship")
2014Puppy LoveLilli Kusiak2 episodes
2014 Strictly Come DancingContestantSeries 12
2017Death In ParadiseHetma Patel2 episodes ("A Man Overboard" Part 1 & 2)
2017 BroadchurchSahana HarrisonSeries 3
2017 Safe HouseDCI Jane BurrSeries 2
2017KinBeckyShort film
2017You, Me, HimCarolFilm
2017–presentAckley BridgeKaneez ParachaMain role
2018InformerSadia SharMain role; 6 episodes
2019Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up StarHerselfGuest star
2020Cold FeetDeborah3 episodes[11]
2020The BayStella3 episodes

Guest appearances

References
  1. Tina Miles (15 November 2014). "Strictly Come Dancing star Sunetra Sarker dedicated 'Sambanetra' to Liverpool mums". liverpoolecho.
  2. "Series 12, Strictly Come Dancing - Sunetra Sarker - BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. "I'm happy to be a Casualty of success". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing". BBC. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  5. Catherine Jones (31 December 2013). "New Year's honours list recognition for Merseysiders - Liverpool Echo". liverpoolecho.
  6. "Sunetra Sarker". sightsavers.net. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  7. "Sunetra Sarker: It was 'astonishing' finding my family's links to Gandhi". Whatsontv.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  8. "BBC iPlayer - Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 13: 9. Sunetra Sarker". BBC. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  9. "WDYTYA? episode summary: Sunetra Sarker". Who Do You Think You Are?. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  10. "'Mobile' star Sunetra Sarker". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  11. Fear, Helen (10 October 2019). "Former Casualty star Sunetra Sarker joins the cast of Cold Feet". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  12. "My little angel; Dawn Collinson talks to actress Sunetra Sarker about the joys of motherhood". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. "BBC - Drama - The Chase - Other characters". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  14. "Five things you didn't know about Strictly Come Dancing beauty Sunetra Sarker". Daily Express. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  15. "Sunetra Sarker (Zoe Hanna, 'Casualty')". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  16. "Sunetra Sarker on Zoe and Max's happy ending: Jamie Davis asked me to come back!". 13 January 2018.
  17. "ITV announces brand new season of original event drama Safe House". itv.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  18. "Sunetra Sarker wins Best TV Character at the Asian Media Awards for her performance in Ackley Bridge". The Forge.
  19. "Strictly Come Dancing: Full celebrity line-up confirmed". BBC News. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  20. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Strictly Week One: Leaderboard". BBC. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  21. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 12 - Sunetra Sarker". BBC.
  22. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Week Three". BBC. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  23. Cathy Owen. "How Strictly Come Dancing's Sunetra Sarker splits her time between Cardiff and the dancefloor". Wales Online.
  24. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Week Four". BBC. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  25. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Week Five".
  26. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Halloween Week".
  27. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Week Seven".
  28. "BBC – Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – Leaderboard: Blackpool".
  29. "Strictly Come Dancing | Series 12 – 11. Strictly Come Dancing: The Results: Part Two". Radio Times. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  30. "Sunetra Sarker featured article on TheGenealogist". TheGenealogist. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  31. "Casualty star Sunetra Sarker marries long-term partner Scott Carey - see wedding snap". Hello! Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  32. "Pointless Celebrities tonight on BBC1 with Sunetra Sarker and Paul Bradley from Casualty and Holby City and Surgical Spirit's Duncan Preston and Nichola McAuliffe". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  33. "Big Star's Little Star on ITV tonight with Jake Wood with son Buster, Sunetra Sarker with son Noah & former England rugby star Austin Healey with twins Betsey & Bibi Dee". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  34. "A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OF FIFTEEN TO ONE - Remedy Productions". 4 March 2016.
  35. "Sunetra Sarker and Jo Joyner, Series 5, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip - BBC Two". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  36. Guide, British Comedy. "Harry Hill's Tea Time Series 1, Episode 8 - Sunetra Sarker - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  37. "BBC - Who Do You Think You Are returns to BBC One for a 13th series - Media Centre". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
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