Shabana Bakhsh

Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh is a Scottish actress who has appeared in soap operas such as River City and Doctors. Her best known role is in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road starring as English teacher Jasmine Koreshi.

Biography Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh made her acting debut in River City as Zara Malik, who moved to Aberdeen. Her parents are of Pakistani origin. She went on to appear in Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss. She then became a regular in Doctors as Tasha Verma. She appeared in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, as newly qualified English teacher Jasmine Koreshi. She currently lives in Glasgow. In 2009 travelled around Scottish schools with TAG theatre company in the production "Yellow Moon", a play by David Greig, where she plays the character Silent Leila.

She has been an outspoken critic of the BBC, saying that they are afraid to write for ethnic minorities. She has also campaigned for women's rights in the Asian community.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 Ae Fond Kiss... Tahara Khan 2011 Perfect Sense Nurse 2014 Honeycomb Lodge Azra 2018 Super November Mona

Television Year Title Role Notes 2002–2003 River City Zara Malik 3 episodes 2004 The Afternoon Play Yasmeela Khan 1 episode, "Glasgow Dreams" 2004–2005 Doctors Tasha Verma Series regular 2005 Taggart Layla 1 episode, "Cause to Kill" 2007-2009 Waterloo Road Jasmine Koreshi Series regular 2017 The Replacement Interview Panel 1 episode