Rakhee Thakrar

Rakhee Thakrar (born 29 February 1984 ) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Shabnam Masood in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders (2014–2016) and Emily Sands in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2023). She also voices the Eighth Doctor's companion Bliss in Big Finish's Doctor Who: The Time War audio dramas.

Early life and education Thakrar was born on a Leap Year Day in 1984, and grew up in the St Matthew's area of Leicester, England. She is of Indian descent, She took drama as a GCSE subject and acted in a play at the Phoenix Theatre. As a teenager, Thakrar became involved with Hathi Productions, a theatre club based in Leicester run by Jez Simons, her drama teacher, who has written for EastEnders. Thakrar played the role from the first episode in 2004, to the last episode in 2010. In 2006, Thakrar made her first TV appearance in BBC drama Banglatown Banquet. Thakrar went on to feature in a number of TV series including Doctors, Holby City, Peep Show and, notably, played a lead character in the British-Asian drama Cloud 9.

Thakrar was cast in EastEnders in 2013 and made her first on-screen appearance on 13 January 2014. Her character, Shabnam Masood, had previously been played by Zahra Ahmadi from 2007 to 2008. Thakrar's most famous storyline while portraying Shabnam was when the character gave birth to a stillborn son, with viewers, critics and co-workers praising her performance throughout the storyline. Due to her performance in the storyline, Thakrar has subsequently become an ambassador for the stillbirth charity, Sands. Thakrar left EastEnders in 2015 and was last seen onscreen on 5 February 2016, following Shabnam's failed marriage to Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami).

In 2019, she began portraying the role of Emily Sands in the Netflix comedy drama series Sex Education. (2019–2023).

She also voices the Eighth Doctor's companion Bliss in Big Finish's Doctor Who: The Time War audio dramas.

Journalism In 2004, Thakrar was one of 20 young people recruited to the Leicester Mercury'''s Pathfinder scheme. Run in conjunction with Leicester City Council, it enabled a team of young journalists to spend 10 months gaining an introduction to print journalism and reporting on their communities. During this time, Thakrar wrote articles on subjects such as the influence Bollywood has had on Leicester, as well as the peculiar situation of being born on 29 February. 2022, 2025 Karen Pirie| Bel Richmond Series 1 & 2; 6 episodes 2024 Finders Keepers| DS Carole Doyle Miniseries; episodes 1 & 2

I, Jack Wright| Laura Johnstone Episodes 1–6 Man Like Mobeen'' Leila Series 5; episodes 1 & 2: "Tainted Love" & "No Diggity"

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2013 Invizimals: The Alliance Jazmin (voice)

Stage Year Title Role Notes 2017 Astronauts of Hartlepool Nadia Vault Festival 2018 There or Here Neera Park Theatre, London 2022Paradise Now!LaurieBush Theatre, London

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result 2014 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Newcomer 2015 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress Asian Media Awards Best TV Character Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor 2016 21st National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance 2016 British Soap Awards Best Actress