Mina Anwar

Mina Anwar
Anwar in 2011
Born
Mina Mumtaz Anwar

(1969-09-20) 20 September 1969 (age 55)
Church, Lancashire, England
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1995–present

Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British Pakistani actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Constable Maggie Habib in The Thin Blue Line, and Gita Chandra in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Early life

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Anwar was born to a family of Pakistani origin in Church, Lancashire on 20 September 1969. She was educated at Accrington Moorhead High School, and gained an A level in Theatre in Performance at the Accrington and Rossendale College in 1988 before training at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

Acting career

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She played Police Constable Maggie Habib in the TV situation comedy The Thin Blue Line, first shown on BBC 1 from 1995 to 1996.

Other roles include the recurring part of Sandra Malik in The Bill in 2003, Sister Zita Khan in Doctors and Nurses and Selena Sharp in Scoop. She also performed as the storyteller in Razzledazzle on the CBeebies channel.

Anwar appeared in the Channel 4 drama Shameless, and as a supporting character in children's sci-fi drama The Sarah Jane Adventures,[1] in which she played Gita Chandra, the mother of character Rani Chandra, from its second to fifth series.[1] She was also in the BBC drama show The Invisibles. Anwar appeared in Coronation Street as the ex-wife of Dev Alahan, the corner-shop owner, and in No Angels.

She starred in The Infidel as the woman in the black burqa, and portrayed Trudy Rehmann in the Nickelodeon series House of Anubis. She has appeared in a number of BBC TV dramas and sitcoms, such as The Wright Way, in which she plays the only female health-and-safety officer, Malika Maha,[2] and in an episode of Upstart Crow where she portrayed one of the three witches from Macbeth. She appeared in the 2014 dramas Happy Valley and In the Club and the ghost tale Remember Me. In 2014 she portrayed Lauren in The Beneficiary, episode 5 of series 6 of the BBC's series of 45-minute stand-alone dramas Moving On.

In 2017 she originated the role of Ray in the new musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and continued her role for the West End transfer.[3]

Anwar appeared in Series 10 of Doctor Who in 2017.

In 2018 she played Miss Marigold Mould in Series 2 of The Worst Witch.

Other activities

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Anwar is a classically trained mezzo soprano. She sings big band jazz and sings backing vocals on occasions for The Charlatans.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Maybe Baby Yasmin
2010 The Infidel Muna
2015 Sleeping Lions Mrs. Ghosh Short film
2018 An Admin Worker at the End of the World Brenda Short film
2020 Farewell, Sarah Jane Gita Chandra Short film
The Understudy Donna
Stuart and Dumplings Khadija Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 99-1 Dr. Resdale Episode: "Stone"
1995 – 1996 The Thin Blue Line W.P.C. Maggie Habib 14 episodes
1997 Flight Shikha TV film
1999 Barbara Midwife Episode: "Scattering"
The Flint Street Nativity Shamima / Angel TV film
2000 A Christmas Carol Julie TV film
2001 I Love the 1980's Herself TV series documentary; 5 episodes
I Love the 1990s Herself TV series documentary; 2 episodes
Always and Everyone Meera Kapoor Episode: #3.13
2002 TV to Go Various Roles Episode: #2.1
Casualty Shelley Episode: "Dominoes"
Birthday Girl Nina Kapoor TV film
Doctors Maria Episode: "Labour Day"
2003 The Bill Dr. Sandra Malik 4 episodes
2004 Doctors and Nurses Sister Zita Khan 6 episodes
Best Friends Miss Mancer 4 episodes
2005 Razzledazzle Presenter 11 episodes
ShakespeaRe-Told Flute Episode: " A Midsummer Night's Dream"
2005 - 2006 Coronation Street Ravinder Kalirai 6 episodes
2005, 2016 Holby City Saima 'Sam' Ahmed / Fay Michaels 2 episodes
2006 The Gil Mayo Mysteries Tina Beaverstock Episode: "A Species of Revenge"
No Angels Jeena 2 episodes
2008 Shameless Auntie Shaza Episode: "Old Friends, New Enemies"
Love Soup Antonia Episode: "Sophisticated Lady"
The Invisibles Helen Huthwaite 6 episodes
2008 - 2011 The Sarah Jane Adventures Gita Chandra 18 episodes
2009 - 2011 Scoop Selena Sharp / Prosecutor 9 episodes
2010 A Passionate Woman Mrs Patel Episode: #1.2
2011 - 2013 House of Anubis Trudy Rehman 106 episodes
2013 Anubis Unlocked Herself Episode: #2.7
The Wright Way Malika Maha 6 episodes
The Slammer Lydia Episode: "Come Lie with Me"
2014 Happy Valley Mrs. Mukherjee 3 episodes
Rocket's Island Kim Khalol 5 episodes
Scott & Bailey Eleanor Goodhead 2 episodes
Moving On Lauren Episode: "The Beneficiary"
Remember Me Roshana Salim 2 episodes
2014 - 2016 In the Club Amita 6 episodes
2015 Marley's Ghosts Tina Jarvis 3 episodes
Cuffs Leila Kamal Episode: #1.6
2016 The A Word Dr. Waite Episode: "Diagnosis"
Upstart Crow Weird Sister Episode: "What Bloody Man Is That?"
Damned Catilin Episode: #1.6
2016, 2019 Pointless Celebrities Herself 2 episodes
2017 Doctor Who Goodthing Episode: "Smile"
2018 The Worst Witch Miss Mould 10 episodes
2020 Terms & Conditions Captain Rules 9 episodes
When It Rains Spa Owner Episode: "Helpline"
2021 Moving On Mrs Ellis Episode: "Hungry to Learn"
2023 Midsomer Murders Eshani Hughes Episode: "Claws Out"

Audio

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Year Title Role Notes
2023 Rani Takes On The World Gita Chandra Spin-off of The Sarah Jane Adventures

References

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  1. ^ a b "Untitled section". Doctor Who Magazine (395). Panini Comics: 12. 28 May 2008.
  2. ^ "The Wright Way - Production Details". The British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Full cast announced for Everybody's Talking About Jamie". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
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