Poppy Jhakra

Poppy Jhakra (born 1984) is an actress from West Yorkshire in England. She is best known for her role in Waterloo Road as English teacher, Eleanor Chaudry.

Jhakra has appeared in Holby City, Waking the Dead and Doctors, and she got the role of Minnie in Coronation Street. She graduated from Rose Bruford College with a First Class degree in American Theatre Arts in 2005, spending a year on American conventions and techniques in Texas.

Jhakra has appeared in Holby City, Waking the Dead, Doctors, and Peter Kosminskys two part Channel 4 docu-film Britz. Following this she landed the part of the rebellious teenager Minnie Chandra in Coronation Street, who she played for eighteen months. She initially auditioned for a different part, but impressed producers so much so in her meeting that the role of 'Minnie' was written in for her.

Jhakra was also cast in Scallywagger and Inn Mates starring Neil Morrisey, comedy sketch shows for the BBC playing various characters.

In July 2010 Jhakra was cast as a new young ambitious English teacher Eleanor Chaudry in Waterloo Road.

Jhakra has also given a one-woman show called Dance Without Movement in which she took her audiences through a journey of a young Asian woman's life in England as well as performing as Princess Jasmine in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Windsor for Bill Kenwright during Christmas 2009.

In August 2016, Jhakra appeared as "tricky" agency nurse Amira Zafar in a feature-length special episode of Casualty, broadcast on 27 August 2016. Jhakra revealed on 5 October 2016 that Amira would appear in one further episode of the show, which she filmed between 5 October and 7 October.