Laila Rouass

Laila Rouass ( Abdesselam; born 22 June 1971) is an English actress. On television, she is known for her roles as in the ITV series Footballers' Wives (2004–2006) and Primeval, the BBC One soap opera Holby City (2011–2012, 2021) and series Spooks (2009), and the Netflix series Safe (2018). She was also a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2009), in which she finished fourth.

Early life Laila Abdesselam was born on 22 June 1971 to an Indian mother and a Moroccan father, she grew up with six siblings in Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. She was raised Muslim but is now non-practising, although she calls the Islamic faith an important part of her identity. While on Channel V, she appeared in a music video for the band Colour Blind, directed by the then creative head of the channel, Shamin Desai.

After moving back to the UK, Rouass became famous for playing the role of Bollywood actress Amber Gates in the cult ITV1 series Footballers' Wives between 2004 and 2006 and, albeit briefly, in the ITV2 spin-off series Footballers' Wives: Extra Time. She also played recurring roles in the British soaps Family Affairs and Hollyoaks, and her character was subsequently killed off-screen between the third and fourth series.

In spring of 2010, Rouass announced that she would be making a film about Leila Khaled, who led the hijacking of a flight from Rome to Athens in 1969. Rouass stated she had funding for the film.

She played Maya Lahan, a regular character introduced in the ninth series of BBC One drama Spooks which broadcast from September 2010. She guest starred as the evil Colonel Karim in The Sarah Jane Adventures in October 2010. Rouass then joined the cast of the BBC medical drama Holby City, appearing from February 2011 as registrar Sahira Shah. She left Holby City on 17 April 2012, after just 14 months on the show, to take a break to spend time with her family. She returned to the role of Sahira Shah on 9 February 2021.

In 2014 She Appeared In Midsomer Murders as Stephanie King in The Flying Club & then return again as Vanessa Debouverie in 2022 episode A Grain of Truth

She is also currently one of the presenters of "The Channel 4 TV Book Club".

In July 2024, it was announced that Rouass would be joining the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Ayesha Siddhu, a woman from Suki Panesar's past.

Strictly Come Dancing She participated in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, a BBC One reality show, paired with professional dancer Anton Du Beke, and alongside Footballers' Wives co-star Zöe Lucker.

The pair made it to the last four before being voted off the show on 6 December 2009. She was unable to participate in the final on 19 December 2009 to reprise her partnership with Anton Du Beke due to a last-minute personal emergency.

Film career Rouass' first film was City of Dreams produced by Feroze Nadiawala, in which she starred opposite Lisa Ray and Saeed Jaffrey. During the years that she was based in India, early in her career, she acted in some Indian films, Aditya Bhattacharya's Indo-Italian Senso unico (1999) and Dev Benegal's Split Wide Open (1999).

In 2000, Rouass starred in Jag Mhundra's controversial film, Bawandar (English title; The Sand Storm), about revenge rapes in Rajasthan, and she made her English-language film debut in 2002 with a small role in The Four Feathers opposite Heath Ledger. and in 2006 she was cast in Aditya Raj Kapoor's film Don't Stop Dreaming.

Rouass also appeared in the independent British film Shoot on Sight (2007) opposite Brian Cox, Om Puri and Sadie Frost. In 2008, she appeared in two films, Freebird and the New Zealand funded Apron Strings.

Rouass appeared in the Harlan Coben Netflix original 8 part mini-series Safe where she played Lauren Marshall.

Personal life In 1990, she married family friend Abdeslam Rouass, but the couple divorced in 2003 without having consummated their marriage. Rouass then lived with London businessman Nasir Khan, with whom she held a commitment ceremony in 2005 before family and friends. She later faced criticism for referring to herself and Khan as a married couple, even though the ceremony had no legal standing. In 2011, Khan was sentenced to nine years in prison for his money-laundering role in a £250 million VAT fraud conspiracy.

From 2010 to 2011, Rouass dated celebrity chef James Petrie. In 2012, she began dating professional snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan, to whom she became engaged in February 2013. Rouass and O'Sullivan appeared together as guests on BBC's Saturday Kitchen in February 2021. In February 2022, Rouass announced on social media that the couple had ended their relationship, but they subsequently reconciled before separating again in September 2024. They reconciled again in January 2025 and married in June of that year. She features in the 2023 documentary about his playing career, Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything.

In August 2017, Rouass was caught up in the Barcelona terrorist attack, writing on Twitter during the incident that she was hiding in a restaurant freezer.

Filmography + Film performances Year Title Role Notes 1999 Senso unico Yasmine Split Wide Open Nandita 2000 Bawandar Amy 2002 The Four Feathers Maya 2003 Two Minutes Sonita Short film 2007 Shoot on Sight Ruby KaurA Cheat in the Park Laila Short film 2008 Apron Strings Anita Freebird Lucinda 2011 Conan the Barbarian Fialla, Conan's Mother

+ Television performances Year Title Role Notes 2001 Family Affairs Tanya Ayuba 2 episodes 2002 Comedy Lab The Unbelievably Beautiful Woman Episode: "Meet the Magoons" Casualty Mandy Kellaway Episode: "You're Going Home in the Back of an Ambulance" 2003 Hollyoaks Dale Jackson 35 episodes 2004 I Dream Lollie Das Episode: "Toone in Love" 2004–2006 Footballers' Wives Amber Gates 22 episodes 2005 Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee Tania Mini-series, 3 episodes Footballers' Wives: Extra Time Amber Gates 3 episodes Meet the Magoons Anita Episode: "Stairway to Havan" 2006 Casualty Gina Marshall Episode: "All Through the Night" 2009 Primeval Sarah Page Main cast. Series 3, 10 episodes 2010 The Sarah Jane Adventures Colonel Tia Karim 2 episodes: "Death of the Doctor: Parts One & Two" Spooks Maya Lahan 7 episodes 2011–2012, 2021 Holby City Sahira Shah Main cast, 60 episodes 2011 Sadie J Maddy Episode: "Robobootylicious" 2014 Midsomer Murders Stephanie King Episode: "The Flying Club" 2015–2016 The Royals Rani, Deputy Prime Minister 5 episodes 2016 Stella Maria 8 episodes The Lodge Olivia 4 episodes 2018 Safe Lauren Marshall Mini-series, 5 episodes Age Before Beauty Shameem Shah 3 episodes 2022 Traces Azra McKinven 6 episodes Midsomer Murders Vanessa Debouverie Episode: "A Grain of Truth" 2023 The Effects of Lying Sangeeta Television film London Kills DI Yasmin Rafiq 2 episodes: "Wake-up Call" and "Vandetta" 2024 Tell Me Everything Samira Series 2, Episode 2EastEndersAyesha SiddhuGuest appearance

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2003 The British Soap Awards Sexiest Female Hollyoaks 2012 17th National Television Awards Drama Performance: Female Holby City