Nisha K. Nayar

Nisha K Nayar is a British actress. After coming to prominence in the 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach, she had starring roles as Debra Kumar in the film Out of Hours in 1998 and as Elaine "the Pain" Boyak in the CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker from 2002 to 2005. She also appeared as Joyce Hammond in the ITV crime drama Rose and Maloney between 2004 and 2005 and starred as Fran Keeley in the Channel 4 drama Before We Die in 2021.

Life and career Nisha K. Nayar was born in Oyster Bay, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania before her family relocated to Toronto, Canada when Nayar was six years old. Her family then relocated again to the United Kingdom, and Nayar grew up in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England and later trained at The Anna Scher Theatre School. In 1991, Nayar appeared in her first major stage role in Our Own Kind. The same year, she appeared as Jamila in 4 episodes of The Buddha of Suburbia. In 1994, she appeared in Medics as Jawinder and played the role of Shanti in the BBC mini-series Siren Spirits. In 1995, Nayar appeared in 2 episodes of Cone Zone as Jess, and played Nasreen in Cardiac Arrest. She starred as Debra Kumar in the BBC medical drama series, Out of Hours in 1998. Between 1999 and 2001, she appeared as Stephanie in Big Bad World. Elaine was introduced in the first series as the social worker of the title character, Tracy Beaker (Dani Harmer). Her nature earned her the nickname "Elaine the Pain" from the children in care and staff alike. Nayar appeared as a main character in all five series of the show and made her final appearance in the last episode in 2005. She also appeared as Elaine in Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me and the Children in Need special Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey in 2004. Between 2004 and 2005, Nayar appeared as Joyce Hammond in the ITV crime drama series Rose and Maloney starring Sarah Lancashire and Phil Davis. In 2005, Nayar appeared in two episodes of Doctor Who, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways, portraying a female programmer who is exterminated by the Daleks. She has also narrated various stories on podcasts and radio. She has also starred in audio plays including The Jungle Book.

In September 2017, Nayar appeared as Samira Kohli in the medical soap opera Doctors on a recurring basis. In 2019 she appeared as Rahael Malik in The Bay. In 2021, Nayar starred in the Channel 4 drama Before We Die as Fran Keeley. Nayar also made a cameo appearance as Elaine Boyak in the music video for "Someday" by Keisha White, the theme song for My Mum Tracy Beaker.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 1987 Doctor Who Red Kang Uncredited; 4 episodes 1989 The Bill Nasreen Shah Episode: "All Part of the Job" 1993 Full Stretch Nurse Coyle Episode: "Ivory Tower" Bhaji on the Beach Ladhu Film The Buddha of Surburbia Jamila Miniseries; all 4 episodes 1994 The Bill Kate Jaffrey Episode: "One of Them" Medics Jawinder Episode: "In the Dark" Siren Spirits Shanti Episode: "Memsahib Rita" Memsahib Rita Television film 1995 Cone Zone Jess 2 episodes Cardiac Arrest Nasreen Supporting role; 5 episodes 1996 Different for Girls Angela Film My Wonderful LifeOlive Episode: "True Love" London Bridge Shaila 4 episodes 1997 Sixth Happiness Tina Film Holding On Karen Pope Series 1: Episode 8 1998 Out of Hours Debra Kumar All 6 episodes 1999–2001 Big Bad World Stephanie Recurring role; 6 episodes 1999 The Darkest Light Nisha Film Underground Seema Television film 2001 A Loving Act Rani Dayal Short film 2002–2005 The Story of Tracy Beaker Elaine "the Pain" Boyak Regular role; 72 episodes 2002 In America Debra Kumar Film Sirens D.C. Kate Oakley Two-part drama series 2003 The Principles of Lust Olivia Film Holby City Shazia Aslam Episode: "A Kind of Loving" Merseybeat Anne Dawson 2 episodes 2004 Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me Elaine "the Pain" Boyak Television film 2004–2005 Rose and Maloney Joyce Hammond Main role; 9 episodes 2004 Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey Elaine "the Pain" Boyak Children in Need special 2005 Doctor Who Female Programmer & Voice of Big Brother Episodes: "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" 2006 Cracker D.S. Saffron Saleh Television film 2010 The Bill Tanisha Baker Episode: "New Beginnings" 2011 Casualty Anjna Chawhan Episode: "Altered States" 2013 Count Arthur Strong Ghita Episode: "Doctor Two" 2014 Law & Order: UK Namita Cresswell Episode: "Repeat to Fade" 2015 Midwinter of the Spirit Nasira Khan Series 1: Episode 2016 Alleycats WPC Sehmi Film 2017 uk18 Kate Doctors Samira Kohli Recurring role; 6 episodes 2019 The Bay Rahael Malik Series 1: Episode 6 Chronos Liz Short film 2021 Before We Die Fran Keeley Main role; 6 episodes 2023 UnicornsShamim