Rakhee Thakrar

Rakhee Thakrar (born 29 February 1984) is an English actress from Leicester, Leicestershire, best known for playing the character of Shabnam Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She also plays the Eighth Doctor's companion, Bliss, in Big Finish's Doctor Who: The Time War audio dramas. 2Early life Thakrar grew up in the city of Leicester, England, where she attended Taylor Primary School then Soar Valley College. As a teenager Thakrar became involved with Leicester theatre company, Hathi Productions, which was run by her drama teacher at Soar Valley College. 2Journalism In 2004, Thakrar was one of twenty 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 ten 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. 2Acting career In 2004, Thakrar landed the role of Roopa Chauhan in the radio drama Silver Street, which was broadcast on the BBC Asian Network. 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 Banque