Ambika Mod

Ambika Bhakti Mod (; born 2 October 1995) is an English actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her roles in the BBC drama series This Is Going to Hurt and the Netflix miniseries One Day (2024), for which she gained wider recognition. She has since starred in the thriller series The Stolen Girl (2025) for Disney+.

Early life and education Mod grew up in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants; her mother arrived in the UK as a child, and her father in his 20s. Mod attended Dame Alice Owen's School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Studies from St Mary's College, Durham.

Early in her career, Mod worked as a personal assistant at Condé Nast as her day job while doing comedy at night. She studied acting at Theatrix Performing Arts of St Albans, based at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans. At Durham, she did sketch comedy through the university's Revue, performing with Tom Harper at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and serving as the troupe's president in 2017. She formed a duo, Megan from HR, with Andrew Shires. She performs regularly at improvised comedy theatre The Free Association in London.

Career After appearing in a series of short films—Fair Bnb, Granddaughter, The Sacrifice (aka Leila Margot), and Pet Name—Mod was cast as Shruti Acharya, a struggling junior doctor opposite Ben Whishaw in This Is Going to Hurt (2022), a medical drama based on Adam Kay's memoir of the same name. The series earned unanimous acclaim from critics; Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter described Mod as the standout among the "regular female characters", praising how she turned Shruti's "earnest fragility into the show's true heart". However, he also noted that the character often functioned primarily as a vehicle for Kay's actions. For her performance, Mod was selected for the 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort and won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. Through the BAFTA programme, she met Emma Thompson, who later became her mentor.

In 2024, Mod starred as Emma Morley in Netflix's One Day, adapted from David Nicholls' novel of the same name. The series follows two young people (played by Mod and Leo Woodall) who reconnect annually over 14 years after a one-night stand. Mod initially declined the role, as the emotionally demanding nature of her performance in This Is Going to Hurt left her doubting her ability to take on a romantic lead. Her portrayal, however, earned widespread critical acclaim and marked a major breakthrough in her career. Upon release, One Day became the most-watched Netflix series worldwide that week. Writing for The Guardian, Chitra Ramaswamy described Mod as a "revelation", and found it "hard to believe this is her first lead role". Reflecting on her character's change in ethnicity from the book and earlier film adaptation, Mod expressed hope that it would "open people's minds a little bit," acknowledging its significance for "a lot of people, especially young women of colour, young South Asian women in particular".

In 2025, Mod had supporting roles in the action films Black Bag and Sacrifice. In the Disney+ thriller series The Stolen Girl, Mod starred as a journalist attempting to locate a missing girl. Emily Godwin of The Evening Standard considered Mod to be the series' prime asset but The Guardian 's Lucy Mangan found the plot to be too contingent on her character's "borderline clairvoyant powers". She will join the second season of Black Doves as "an acerbic and anarchic Black Doves agent". The London set spy series will reunite her with This is Going to Hurt co-star Ben Whishaw.

Mod also joined the Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions in the role of Nymphadora Tonks. She will make her first appearance in the audio release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in March 2026.

Media image In 2024, Mod was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list under the Entertainment category, recognised for her advocacy for greater industry representation and her performances in This Is Going to Hurt and One Day. The Sunday Times named Mod one of the 25 most inspiring people aged 30 and under in the UK and Ireland. Later that year, Mod was featured on Times annual TIME100 Next list of emerging leaders shaping the future, with Mindy Kaling writing: "It feels like there's nothing to make you sit up, lean forward, and say, 'Wow, I’ve never seen that before.' But that's exactly how I felt when I saw Ambika Mod in [...] One Day."

Mod was also named one of Harper's Bazaar UK' s 2024 Women of the Year, receiving the Breakthrough of the Year award. In November 2024, she received one of British GQ's Men of the Year awards. In February 2025, Mod was included in Elles 40 For 40: Women in Film and Television list, described as a "power list of the women who'll shape the coming decades in film and television." Author Hanna Flint wrote: "Ambika is a rising star in television [...] she's reshaping what it means to be a leading lady." In September 2025, she signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine, committing not to collaborate with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2018 Fair BnB Izzy Short film 2019 Granddaughter Phoebe 2020 The Sacrifice (aka Leila Margot) Rukhsana 2022 Pet Name Sophie 2025 Black Bag Angela Childs Sacrifice Katie 2026 Swapped Violet Voice

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2019 The Mash Report Sarah / Average Young Person Series 4; episode 6 2020 The B@it Samantha Episode: "Ending Other People's Relationships" 2021 Trying Usher Episode: "I'm Scared" 2022 This Is Going to Hurt Shruti Acharya Main role. Mini-series; 7 episodes Martin Fishback Samah Television Special I Hate Suzie Una Finch Series 2; episodes 1 & 3 2024 One Day Emma Morley Main role. 14 episodes Comic Relief: Funny for Money Herself Red Nose Day fundraising telethon 2025 The Stolen Girl Selma Desai Main role. Mini-series; 5 episodes Black Doves Laila Series 2; episode 1 2019 Children of the Quorn Self Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 3 Self Edinburgh Fringe Festival White Rabbit Red Rabbit Self @sohoplace 2025 Porn Play Ani Royal Court Theatre Every Brilliant Thing Narrator @sohoplace

Audio Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2022 Doctor Who: Redacted Captain Chopra BBC Sounds 2024 Bleak House Esther Summerson Audible 2026 Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions Nymphadora Tonks 2022 Edinburgh TV Awards Breakthrough Talent – Actor This Is Going to Hurt 2023 BPG Television, Streaming and Audio Awards Best Actress RTS Programme Awards Supporting Actor – Female 2024 Gotham TV Awards Outstanding Performance in a Limited Series One Day Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards Breakthrough of the Year Rose d'Or Awards Emerging Talent Women In Film & TV Awards Netflix New Talent Award 2025 Newport Beach Film Festival U.K. Honours Spotlight Artist Award RTS Programme Awards Leading Actor – Female