1. Shobna Gulati was born on 7 August 1966 and is a British actor and presenter.
30 Facts About Shobna Gulati
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From 2013 to 2014, Shobna Gulati appeared as a panellist on the lunchtime talk show Loose Women.
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Shobna Gulati was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to the cultural industries.
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Shobna Gulati was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, to Punjabi Hindu parents.
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Shobna Gulati was raised a Hindu and married in a Hindu ceremony.
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Shobna Gulati grew up in the Salcombe area of Openshaw, Manchester, where they became friends with actress Sarah Lancashire.
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Shobna Gulati has a degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern politics from the University of Manchester.
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Shobna Gulati has appeared on the TV quiz shows Call My Bluff, Have I Got News for You, The Weakest Link, Russian Roulette and as Diana Ross in Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.
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In early 2006, Shobna Gulati took part in the Reality TV series Soapstar Superstar.
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In October 2006, Shobna Gulati appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as part of a short skit featured in The Secret Policeman's Ball.
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Shobna Gulati was one of the storytellers in a CBBC revival of Jackanory and in the UK tour of the hit play Girls Night by Louise Roche.
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In 2008, Shobna Gulati made their debut as a filmmaker, producing the short film Akshay for the motiroti's 60x60 Secs.
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On 11 June 2009, Shobna Gulati appeared in the BBC1 programme Celebrity MasterChef.
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Shobna Gulati made their Loose Women debut on 18 November 2010 to celebrate 50 years of Coronation Street, appearing with regulars Kate Thornton, Sherrie Hewson and Carol McGiffin.
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Shobna Gulati returned to the show on 11 April 2012 appearing alongside regulars Andrea McLean, Jane McDonald and Janet Street-Porter during soap week.
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Shobna Gulati returned to the show as a regular from 13 March 2013, taking over from Sally Lindsay who took time off to film Mount Pleasant, from September 2013, Shobna Gulati became an occasional panellist on the show, before leaving on 30 May 2014.
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Shobna Gulati made a guest appearance in Casualty on 29 October 2016.
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In 2018, Shobna Gulati appeared in the Doctor Who episodes "Arachnids in the UK" and "Demons of the Punjab" as Najia Khan, mother of The Doctor's companion Yaz Khan.
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Shobna Gulati played Ray in the West End production of Everybody's Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre in 2018.
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Now adapted as a screenplay, Shobna Gulati played the part of Ray alongside Sarah Lancashire.
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In May 2021, Shobna Gulati starred as Vicky in the three-part comedy drama murder mystery series, Murder, They Hope.
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In December 2022, Shobna Gulati appeared as Posy in the Christmas special of BBC dark comedy Inside No 9, "The Bones of St Nicholas".
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Gulati is the child of K A Gulati who arrived in Oldham from Bombay, India, in 1960.
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Shobna Gulati married the architect Anshu Srivastava in a Hindu ceremony on 10 November 1990; the couple divorced in May 1994.
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Shobna Gulati has a working knowledge of six languages and is a vocal supporter of Asian women's rights and various anti-racism campaigns.
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Shobna Gulati is a supporter and a season ticket holder of Manchester United.
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In 2015, Shobna Gulati was appointed as a deputy lieutenant of Greater Manchester.
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Shobna Gulati was asked to help a murder hunt in December 2004 following the murder of Shafilea Ahmed.
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At a press conference appealing for more information, Shobna Gulati read out some of the poems found in her bedroom during their investigations which "were a testimony to her sadness at being caught in a culture clash with other members of her family".
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Shobna Gulati said that they sympathised with the teenager's difficulty in balancing her culture with her upbringing.