Paige Sandhu (born 1996/1997) is a British actress. Sandhu began her acting career with appearances in ''
Doctors
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
'' and ''
Endeavour'', before being cast as
Meena Jutla
Meena Jutla is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Paige Sandhu. Details surrounding her casting and Meena's characterisation were announced in September 2020 alongside that of two other new characters as pa ...
in the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
soap opera ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
''; for her portrayal of the role, Sandhu has received critical acclaim and won the award for Best Villain at the
2021 ''Inside Soap'' Awards and
Best Leading Performer
The British Soap Award for Best Leading Performer is an award presented annually by The British Soap Awards. The award was introduced to the ceremony in 2022, succeeding the categories for Best Actress and Best Actor as a gender neutral repla ...
at the
2022 British Soap Awards.
Early life
Sandhu was born in the 1990s. After attending the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
, Sandhu suffered from social anxiety, fear of judgement and fears about her future career. She moved back in with her parents and "became quite reclusive".
She felt unsafe around people she did not know which led her to not leave the house much, as well as developing
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
and various food intolerances.
Career
Sandhu made her debut television appearances in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
In September 2020, it was announced that Sandhu had been cast in the ITV soap opera ''
). In June 2021, it was confirmed that Meena would become a serial killer on the soap. Sandhu has received critical acclaim for her performances as Meena,
, and was nominated for Best Newcomer.
.
Sandhu has confirmed that after the conclusion of Meena's serial killer arc, she will be leaving the soap. Her final scenes aired on 18 April 2022 when she was sentenced to life imprisonment; that same day, Sandhu began filming for her next acting project.