Sunetra Sarker

Early life

Sarker was born in Liverpool into a Hindu family. Her father is a retired doctor, and her mother Bisakha taught Indian classical dance for which she was awarded an MBE in December 2013. Sarker has a degree in Information Systems for Business in Europe from Brunel University London. Her great-grandfather was the lawyer, novelist and political activist Nares Sen-Gupta.

Career

Sarker has played a wide variety of roles in her career. Her initial success came when she was cast as Nisha Batra in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 1988 to 1990 and then returned in 2000 until 2003.

Sarker also starred in the short-lived regional soap London Bridge. This was followed by one of her biggest roles as Anji Mittel in No Angels from 2004 to 2006.

Sarker's next large role was playing the part of Clare Burns in the BBC drama The Chase until the show was pulled after its second series. Sarker played the role of Dr Zoe Hanna in Casualty from 2007 until May 2016 after she decided to leave after over 9 years.

In 2007, Sarker was a contestant on the celebrity cooking series Celebrity MasterChef. In 2009 she provided the voiceover for the new Liverpool One shopping centre advertisements.

Sarker currently appears in Channel 4's Ackley Bridge as Kaneez Paracha, mother of main character Nasreen. In 2017, she played DCI Jane Burr in the second series of ITV's Safe House.

Strictly Come Dancing

In autumn 2014, Sarker competed in the twelfth series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with New Zealand professional dancer Brendan Cole. In the first week the couple danced a Tango to "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" by Robert Palmer and scored 24. In the second week they danced a Cha-cha-cha to "Million Dollar Bill" by Whitney Houston and scored 26. In the third week the couple danced the American Smooth to "The Way You Look Tonight" from the film Swing Time and scored 40, including a 9 from head judge Len Goodman. Because of Sunetra's filming schedule, the routine had to be learned in a single day.

In the fourth week the couple danced the Salsa to "Turn the Beat Around" by Vicki Sue Robinson and scored 27. In the fifth week the couple danced the Viennese Waltz to "Anyone Who Had a Heart" by Cilla Black and scored 30. In week six, opening the show, they danced a Jive to "Tainted Love" by Gloria Jones and scored 27. In week seven they danced a Foxtrot to "All of Me" by John Legend and scored 31. In week eight, at Blackpool, they danced a Samba to "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by the Scissor Sisters and scored 30. The couple were voted into the dance-off, against Judy Murray and Anton du Beke, but were unanimously saved by the judges.

In week nine they danced a Waltz, to "Last Request" by Paolo Nutini, and again scored 30, placing them in one from last place. The couple was voted into the dance-off with Steve Backshall and Ola Jordan, but were saved by three votes to one from the judges. In week ten they danced a Rumba to "The Girl from Ipanema" by Michael Bolton. The couple was again voted into the dance-off, against Mark Wright and Karen Hauer, but were unanimously voted out by the judges.

Personal life

Sarker married Nick Corfield in 2003. Their son Noah was born the following year. The couple parted in 2011, but both still live in Bristol, and care for Noah jointly.

On 23 February 2017 Sarker's ancestors were the subject of Who Do You Think You Are? shown on BBC One in which she traced them to Bengal. She learns about her family's involvement in the struggle for independence in India and one of her ancestor's connection to Gandhi. Travelling next to Bangladesh, she visits her great-grandmother's ancestral village where she discovers the harrowing story of how her family were caught up in Bangladesh's 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.