Navin Chowdhry (born 1 January 1971) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actor He is best known for his roles as Indra Ganesh in Doctor Who Sunil Mitesh in The Job Lot and as Nish Panesar in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Early life

Chowdhry is of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n-origin and was born and brought up in

Bristol, England Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...

. Son of Simi Chowdhry, a well known public figure, a woman activist. In 1994 he graduated from

Imperial College, London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, earning a 3-year degree in biochemistry with 2:1 honours.Navin Chowdhry plays Mani
BBC (11 July 2006).

Career

At age 16, Chowdhry made his acting debut in the 1988 film, ''

Madame Sousatzka ''Madame Sousatzka'' is a 1988 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the 1962 novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens. __TOC__ Plot Bengali immigrant Sushila Sen (Shabana Azmi) l ...

'' with

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

and

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

. His next major role was as I.T. teacher Kurt McKenna in the successful comedy show ''

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

'' in 2001–2003,Teachers- Channel4
channel4.com and is also well known for playing PC Sanjay Singh in ''

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is ...

''. He also appeared as a possible rapist in ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court of Justice, High Court judge wh ...

''. Chowdhry appeared in '' Waking The Dead'', Series 3, Episode 3, entitled "Breaking Glass", opposite

Trevor Eve Trevor John Eve (born 1 July 1951) is an English film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series ''Shoestring'' and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC televi ...

and

Sue Johnston Susan Johnston OBE (née Wright; born 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2000, ...

. In the episode, he portrays the psychologically affected "Rainman". He then starred in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

drama series ''

NY-LON ''NY-LON'' is a 2004 British drama series that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The series was created and written by Simon Burke and Anya Camilleri, and starred Rashida Jones and Stephen Moyer. ''NY-LON'' was also broadcast on BBC A ...

'' as Raph.Navin Chowdhry who plays Raph in the trans-atlantic drama NY-LON joined us for a webchat after the show
NY-LON- Channel4.com (28 October 2004). On 30 October 2005, he appeared on stage at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

theatre in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in the one-night play ''

Night Sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a night sky include ...

'' alongside

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

, Bruno Langley,

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...

Saffron Burrows Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' ''Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and ''The ...

and

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has al ...

. In 2005 he made a guest appearance in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', then starring

as the Doctor. In 2006, he appeared in the BBC Three drama series ''

Sinchronicity ''Sinchronicity'' is a six-part comedy-drama series broadcast on BBC Three in the United Kingdom (16 July 2006 — 20 August 2006). Set in Manchester, the programme is narrated by Nathan (Paul Chequer) and focuses on the love triangle of him, ...

'', playing Mani. In 2009, he appeared in two episodes of the

series '' Free Agents'' and featured in ''

Skellig ''Skellig'' is a children's novel by the British author David Almond, published by Hodder in 1998. It was the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and it won the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstandi ...

''. In 2010, he starred in the BBC television pilot '' Reunited'', playing Danny.Andrew Pettie (30 June 2010)
Reunited: with the type of long-lost friends you’d rather leave behind, review
Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-18. Chowdhry has also produced projects such as the award-winning short film "This Bastard Business" and a short play entitled ''Mashed''. He played Anwar in the critically acclaimed 2015

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

series '' Doctor Foster'' and in 2016 he played Sonny Desai in Series 18's first episode of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

''. Chowdhry portrayed Nodin Chavdri in the 2017 film '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. In 2019, he appeared in Sarah Rutherford's play "The Girl Who Fell" at Trafalgar Studios. In 2022, Chowdhry began playing the previously unseen and imprisoned Nish Panesar in ''EastEnders''. Nish, a manipulative psychopath, first appeared during the final stages of his 20-year prison sentence and was released shortly thereafter.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
2006 Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhry, Navin 1971 births Living people Male actors from Bristol Alumni of Imperial College London English male film actors English male television actors English male actors of South Asian descent English people of Indian descent British male actors of Indian descent