Shobna Gulati

About Shobna Gulati

Who is it?: Actress
Birth Day: August 07, 1966
Birth Place:  Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Occupation: Actress, presenter
Years active: 1998-present
Employer: BBC (1998–2000, 2017–present) ITV (2001–2014)
Known for: Anita in dinnerladies Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street
Spouse(s): Anshu Srivastava (1990–1994)
Children: 1

Shobna Gulati

Shobna Gulati was born on August 07, 1966 in  Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, is Actress. Shobna Gulati is a British actress, writer, and dancer. Gulati is a soap star best known for playing Anita in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies and Sunita Alahan in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2006, a role to which she returned at the end of 2009 and departed again in 2013. From 13 March 2013 to 30 May 2014, Gulati appeared as a panellist on the lunchtime chat-show Loose Women.Gulati is also one of very few actors to have appeared in both Coronation Street and its rival series EastEnders (in 2000).Gulati was born in Oldham, Lancashire to parents of Hindu Indian descent. She has a degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern politics from the University of Manchester.One of Gulati's earliest appearances was as a dancer in the video for Boy George's 1991 single "Bow Down Mister." In the late 1990s, she received excellent reviews for her work in Victoria Wood's BBC sitcom Dinnerladies as a main character, this finished in 2000 after two years and she appeared in both series. She appeared as Ameena Badawi from October to December 2000, in EastEnders she is one of few to have appeared in both rival-soaps EastEnders and Coronation Street, also Gulati appeared in the crossover between both soap's (East Street) in 2010 as her main character, Sunita. In 2001, she appeared in the short film Shadowscan, directed by Tinge Krishnan, which won a Bafta Award; and, in 2004, Gulati was nominated for a Manchester Evening News theatre award for her work in the play Dancing Within Walls, which was staged at the Contact Theatre in Manchester.Gulati has also 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. In early 2006, Gulati took part in the Reality TV series Soapstar Superstar.After Gulati left Coronation Street initially in 2006, she played Nisha Clayton, a recurring role in the final series of Where the Heart Is and made appearances in New Street Law and the one-off comedy drama Magnolia which was written by Dave Spikey for BBC's Comedy Playhouse series.In October 2006, Gulati appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as part of a short skit featured in The Secret Policeman's Ball. In the sketch, Gulati and co-star Nitin Ganatra play a holidaying couple who are under the mistaken belief Guantanamo Bay is a holiday resort. The sketch also starred American actors Chevy Chase and Seth Green.Gulati has recently been seen as one of many storytellers in the CBBC revival of Jackanory and in the UK tour of the hit play Girls Night by Louise Roche. She also appeared on the Channel 4 special Empire's Children, tracing her family's history during the partition of India. In summer 2007, she appeared in Pretend You Have Big Buildings at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.In 2008, Gulati made her debut as a filmmaker, producing the short film Akshay for the motiroti's 60x60 Secs.During this same period, the actress returned to her Coronation Street role as Sunita Alahan, where she stayed for three years.On 11 June 2009, Gulati appeared in the BBC1 programme Celebrity MasterChef. She did the first stage tour of Dinnerladies in early 2009 and she has appeared as a guest story teller for (cbbc, Bedtime Stories). In November 2010, Gulati was a guest panellist on ITVs flagship show Loose Women, to celebrate fifty years of Coronation Street and in April 2012, to celebrate soap week and in June 2011, Gulati was a guest on Countdown. Upon announcing her departure from Coronation Street, the actress expressed her desire to write and perform more comedy than her soap-opera career permitted her time to do. In 2016, she appeared in the ITV/Netflix series Paranoid. Gulati also made a guest appearance on Casualty on 29th October 2016.Gulati married the architect Anshu Srivastava in a Hindu ceremony on 10 November 1990 but the couple divorced in May 1994.
Shobna Gulati is a member of Actress

Does Shobna Gulati Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, Shobna Gulati is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020).

🎂 Shobna Gulati - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday

Currently, Shobna Gulati is 58 years, 2 months and 26 days old. Shobna Gulati will celebrate 59rd birthday on a Thursday 7th of August 2025. Below we countdown to Shobna Gulati upcoming birthday.

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
Popular As Shobna Gulati
Occupation Actress
Age 56 years old
Zodiac Sign Virgo
Born August 07, 1966 ( Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom)
Birthday August 07
Town/City  Oldham, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Nationality United Kingdom

🌙 Zodiac

Shobna Gulati’s zodiac sign is Virgo. According to astrologers, Virgos are always paying attention to the smallest details and their deep sense of humanity makes them one of the most careful signs of the zodiac. Their methodical approach to life ensures that nothing is left to chance, and although they are often tender, their heart might be closed for the outer world. This is a sign often misunderstood, not because they lack the ability to express, but because they won’t accept their feelings as valid, true, or even relevant when opposed to reason. The symbolism behind the name speaks well of their nature, born with a feeling they are experiencing everything for the first time.

🌙 Chinese Zodiac Signs

Shobna Gulati was born in the Year of the Horse. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Horse love to roam free. They’re energetic, self-reliant, money-wise, and they enjoy traveling, love and intimacy. They’re great at seducing, sharp-witted, impatient and sometimes seen as a drifter. Compatible with Dog or Tiger.

Some Shobna Gulati images

Biography/Timeline

1960

Gulati is the daughter of Dr K.A. Gulati who arrived in Oldham from Bombay, India in 1960. She has a younger brother, Rajesh, and two older sisters, Sushma and Hema.

1990

Gulati married the Architect Anshu Srivastava in a Hindu ceremony on 10 November 1990 but the couple divorced in May 1994. She lived separately from her husband and became pregnant with Akshay. From 1999 to 2003 she was in a relationship with ex-Emmerdale actor Gary Turner.

1991

One of Gulati's earliest appearances was as a Dancer in the video for Boy George's 1991 single "Bow Down Mister." In the late 1990s, she appeared in both series' of Victoria Wood's BBC sitcom Dinnerladies. She appeared as Ameena Badawi from October to December 2000, in EastEnders. She is one of few to have appeared in both EastEnders and Coronation Street. Gulati appeared as her main character, Sunita, in East Street, the crossover between both soaps in 2010, as part of Children in Need's telethon. In 2001, she appeared in the short film Shadowscan, directed by Tinge Krishnan, which won a Bafta Award; and, in 2004, Gulati was nominated for a Manchester Evening News theatre award for her work in the play Dancing Within Walls, which was staged at the Contact Theatre in Manchester.

2000

Gulati is also one of very few actors to have appeared on both Coronation Street and its rival series EastEnders in 2000.

2004

Gulati was called in to join a murder hunt in December 2004 following the murder of Shafilea Ahmed. At a press conference appealing for more information about the teenager's death, Gulati read out some of the poems found in her bedroom by police during their investigations which "were a testimony to her sadness at being caught in a culture clash with other members of her family".

2006

In October 2006, Gulati appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as part of a short skit featured in The Secret Policeman's Ball. In the Sketch, Gulati and co-star Nitin Ganatra play a holidaying couple who are under the mistaken belief Guantanamo Bay is a holiday resort. The Sketch also starred American actors Chevy Chase and Seth Green.

2007

Gulati has recently been seen as one of many storytellers in the CBBC revival of Jackanory and in the UK tour of the hit play Girls Night by Louise Roche. She also appeared on the Channel 4 special Empire's Children, tracing her family's history during the partition of India. In summer 2007, she appeared in Pretend You Have Big Buildings at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

2008

In 2008, Gulati made her debut as a filmmaker, producing the short film Akshay for the motiroti's 60x60 Secs. This was shortlisted for the Satyajit Ray, short film awards. During this same period, the Actress returned to her Coronation Street role as Sunita Alahan, where she stayed for three years.

2009

On 11 June 2009, Gulati appeared in the BBC1 programme Celebrity MasterChef. She did the first stage tour of Dinnerladies in early 2009 and she has appeared as a guest story Teller for (cbbc, Bedtime Stories). In November 2010, Gulati was a guest panellist on ITVs flagship show Loose Women, to celebrate fifty years of Coronation Street and in April 2012, to celebrate soap week and in June 2011, Gulati was a guest on Countdown. Upon announcing her departure from Coronation Street, the Actress expressed her Desire to write and perform more comedy than her soap-opera career permitted her time to do. In 2016, she appeared in the ITV/Netflix series Paranoid. Gulati made a guest appearance on Casualty on 29 October 2016.

2010

Gulati made her Loose Women debut on 18 November 2010 to celebrate 50 years of Coronation Street, appearing alongside regulars Kate Thornton, Sherrie Hewson and Carol McGiffin. Gulati returned to the show on 11 April 2012 appearing alongside regulars Andrea McLean, Jane McDonald and Janet Street-Porter during soap week. 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, Gulati became an occasional panellist on the show, before leaving on 30 May 2014.

2017

In 2017, she appeared as Saba in the British romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah. Also in 2017, she joined the cast of River City where she currently plays Farah Khurana.

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