Priya Davdra
Born
Priya Davdra

(1987-04-12) 12 April 1987 (age 36)
Greater London, England
EducationInternational School of Screen Acting
OccupationActress
Years active2016–present
TelevisionEastEnders

Priya Davdra (born 12 April 1987) is a British actress, known for playing Iqra Ahmed on the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2019 to 2022, the first Muslim lesbian character to appear on the show. Following her exit from EastEnders, she has starred in the ITVX horror comedy series Count Abdulla.

Early life

Davdra was born on 12 April 1987 in London, England. Davdra is British of Indian Gujarati descent and Hindu heritage.[1] After leaving school, Davdra initially pursued a career in banking, a job she stayed in until the age of 30.[1] From 2016 to 2017, she attended the International School of Screen Acting.[2]

Career

While at drama school, Davdra made her professional acting career in the feature film Naan Yaar as lead role Shivani in 2016.[3] Then in 2017, she appeared in a short film titled The Chapati Flower[4] and an internet advertisement for Think.[3] After making guest appearances in various projects, Davdra was cast as a series regular in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in December 2018.[5] She made her first appearance as Iqra Ahmed on 19 February 2019.[6][7] Davdra's character was involved in a coming out storyline where she became the first Muslim lesbian to appear on EastEnders.[8][9][10][11] Davdra made her final appearance as Iqra in January 2022.[12] In 2023, she was cast in the ITVX horror comedy series Count Abdulla.[13]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Naan Yaar Shivani Film [4]
2017 The Chapati Flower Rani Short film [4]
2017 Think Driver Advertisement [3]
2018 Hitman 2 Karisma (voice) Video game [14]
2018 The Colour of Milk Jaswinder Short film [15]
2018 Macquarie Bank Brooke Advertisement [16]
2019–2022 EastEnders Iqra Ahmed Regular role [17]
2023 Count Abdulla Simran Main role [13]

References

  1. ^ a b Hill, Susan (26 November 2019). "At Ender the day, It's OK to be who you want to be". Daily Star.
  2. ^ "Class of 2017". ISSA. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Spotlight: Priya Davdra". Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Leading lady Priya Davdra cast as Saj in Healed at Omnibus Theatre!". Boland and Reeve. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Masood's nieces Iqra and Habiba arrive in EastEnders – with a big secret!". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ^ "EastEnders to feature its first ever lesbian Muslim character next month". Midlands Zone. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  7. ^ "EastEnders spoilers: Who are the Ahmed sisters? Meet Habiba and Iqra!". Metro. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ^ Akingbade, Tobi (1 August 2019). "EastEnders set for 'first lesbian Muslim character' in groundbreaking storyline". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  9. ^ "EastEnders character to come out as the show's first Muslim lesbian in new storyline". Metro. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  10. ^ "EastEnders introduces soap's first Muslim lesbian". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  11. ^ Damshenas, Sam (30 July 2019). "Eastenders to introduce show's first ever Muslim lesbian". Gay Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  12. ^ Davdra, Priya. "…And that's a wrap on 3 years with @bbceastenders ❤️… It's been an absolute pleasure!!! Bye bye Iq's 🙋🏽‍♀️will miss ya! ✨✨✨ #ontothenextone #letsgo". Instagram. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Everything you need to know about new ITVX comedy 'Count Abdulla'". Asian Image. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  14. ^ Davdra, Priya (24 November 2018). "Woo Finally got my copy of #hitman2 ..... Soooo chuffed to be cast as a voiceover on this 🙌 Thanks to all the wonderful directors I had the opportunity to work with, #iointeractive and of course @bolandandreeve 😘 #hitman2 #2018 #agent47 #mumbailevel #xbox #ps4 #gameing #voiceovers #ncp #karisma #actress🎬". Instagram. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  15. ^ "EastEnders spoilers: New characters REVEALED following Christmas storyline". News Rust. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Priya Davdra is a new series regular on BBC's Eastenders!". Boland and Reeve. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  17. ^ Johnson, Amy (20 December 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Arshad family to expand with 'NIGHTMARE' newcomers Iqra and Habiba". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

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