Seeta Indrani (born 20 April 1963) is an English dancer and actress.

Biography

Performance

After graduation as a dancer from the

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England and a part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. It was founded by Robin Howard in 1966 to train new dancers for his company, Londo ...

, Indrani took the role of Cassandra in the original 1981 West End production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

. She then undertook various pieces of stage work, including seasons at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, The Royal Exchange, and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. Indrani then took the role for which she is best known, WPC

Norika Datta ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London. Senior ...

, 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 ...

drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' from 1989 to 1998. She was voted Best Supporting Actress by the Asian Film Academy in 1995, and best actress in 1996. In 2019, Seeta Indrani shared her memories of ''

'' during an in-depth interview about her life and career. After leaving ''The Bill,'' she returned to the stage with roles in ''

Cruel Garden Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve vi ...

'' with the

Rambert Dance Company Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

, played Ariel to

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

's Prospero in '' The Tempest,'' and at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

with

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

. She was then invited on the first national tour in 40 years of Britain's oldest opera company,

Carl Rosa Opera The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiered ...

, playing Prince Orlovsky in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original ...

.'' From October 2008 to March 2010 she appeared in the role of

Dr. Lily Hassan Dr. Lily Hassan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'', portrayed by Seeta Indrani, who made her first appearance on 28 October 2008. Her backstory involves going from a rebel in her youth to reinventing herself and achiev ...

on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

daytime soap, ''

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 ** ...

.'' She portrayed

Afia Khan Afia Masood (also Khan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Meryl Fernandes. Afia appeared in five episodes between 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010, and returned on 18 November 2010. This is Fernandes' ...

's maternal aunt Shameem on ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' in 2011. In 2011, Indrani appeared as Brenda Kiely in the Sky1 comedy drama series '' The Café''. In 2013, she made a guest appearance as DCI Stella Morton in the BBC One drama series ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' in the episode "

Badge of Honour The Badge of Honour, accompanied by the King's Certificate and Badge of Honour, is a civil award previously presented by the governments of British colonies and protectorates, and now by British Overseas Territories, to recognise loyal and valua ...

". Indrani portrayed Harita in nine episodes of ''

Catastrophe Catastrophe or catastrophic comes from the Greek κατά (''kata'') = down; στροφή (''strophē'') = turning ( el, καταστροφή). It may refer to: A general or specific event * Disaster, a devastating event * The Asia Minor Catastro ...

'' in 2015 and 2017. In 2020, she appeared in 3 episodes of ''

The Show Must Go Online ''The Show Must Go Online'' is a British web series created by Robert Myles. The first episode premiered on 19 March 2020 on YouTube, in direct response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the theatre industry. The first series consisted of ...

'', playing the Duchess Eleanor of Gloucester in ''

Henry VI, Part II ''Henry VI, Part 2'' (often written as ''2 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1'' ...

'', Gertrude in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and Goneril in ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

''.

Production

Indrani is co-founder and co-owner of MashMosh Films with editor Chris Bishop. Created in 2004, its productions include ''

Asians in Europe Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...

'', a promo film for Asian Music Award winner

DJ Swami Diamond Duggal also known as DJ Swami is a British-Indian music producer, composer, sound designer and multi-instrumentalist. He has produced a diversity of award-winning global artists, including Shania Twain, Pras Michel, Apache Indian, Maxi Pri ...

funded by

Sony Entertainment Television Asia Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's You ...

,Background at Seeta Indrani
and short film ''

Snapshots Snapshot, snapshots or snap shot may refer to: * Snapshot (photography), a photograph taken without preparation Computing * Snapshot (computer storage), the state of a system at a particular point in time * Snapshot (file format) or SNP, a file ...

'' and full production '' The Good time Girls'' which both debuted at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. Indrani also has her own dance company, Fuego Flamenco, which indulges her passion for the Spanish dance, which she also teaches.

Personal life

She was born 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 ...

. Indrani's hobbies include ballet,

step dance Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * ''Step'' (film), US, 2017 Literature * '' ...

and yoga, while she continues to study singing with

Mary Hammond Mary Hammond is an English singer, actress, voice coach and founding Head of Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. She has also published a book titled ''Thank you that's all we need for today'' a practical guide to musical theatre au ...

Radio

From October 1987 to 1989, Seeta played Anita Sharma in

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's drama series ''

Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Indrani, Seeta English female dancers English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Flamenco dancers Actresses from London Royal Shakespeare Company members 1963 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses British actresses of Indian descent