Born: 7th August 1966
Episodes Broadcast: 2018, 2020

Shobna Gulati was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester. She attended the University of Manchester, from which she graduated in 1988 with degrees in both Arabic and Middle Eastern politics. Gulati was also a talented dancer, earning a diploma in dance from the Laban Dance Centre and a certificate in dance and education from Middlesex University. Indeed, one of her first on-camera appearances was as a dancer in the video for Boy George's 1991 single Bow Down Mister. Gulati married architect Anshu Srivastava in 1990, but the marriage ended in 1994. A subsequent relationship produced a son, Akshay, whom she raised as a single parent.

In 1998, Gulati co-starred in the sitcom Dinnerladies. She then had a recurring part during 2000 on EastEnders before her most famous role arrived on another soap opera: Coronation Street. Gulati played barmaid Sunita Alahan from 2001 to 2006, when the character was dropped from the show. After appearances in programmes like New Street Law and Where The Heart Is, she returned to Coronation Street for a second stint from 2009 to 2013. Gulati also began to appear frequently on quiz shows and reality programmes, including the fourth season of Celebrity MasterChef in 2009 and a year as a Loose Women panellist from 2013 to 2014. After leaving Coronation Street for good, her subsequent credits included In The Club, Doctors, Paranoid and River City. A rare movie role came in 2017's Finding Fatimah. Gulati was also made deputy lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2015.

In 2018, Gulati could be seen on the West End in Everybody's Talking About Jamie; she reprised her role in the subsequent movie adaptation. The same year, she joined the cast of Doctor Who as Najia, mother to companion Yasmin Khan. Her most prominent involvement was in her debut adventure, Arachnids In The UK, after which her screentime was more limited in Demons Of The Punjab and the 2020 season premiere, Spyfall. Amongst Gulati's other television work during the Twenties were episodes of Midsomer Murders, Hullraisers, Inside No 9 and Murder, They Hope.