# Rebecca Sarker

Rebecca Sarker (born 1975) is an English actress. After portraying the role of Nita Desai in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1999 to 2000, she made various appearances in television series including Rosemary and Thyme, Doctors, Holby City, The Golden Hour and EastEnders. In 2018, she began appearing in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Manpreet Sharma.

## Early life

Sarker is from Halifax, West Yorkshire. Her parents met while working at a hospital in Nottingham; her father, Khaleque, is a British Pakistani GP, and her mother, Elizabeth, is an English children's nurse. Her older brother is a dentist. Sarker attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. She pursued a degree in Modern Languages at Leeds University and spent a year teaching English in Spain, where she took up flamenco dancing. She later trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

## Career

Sarker made her acting debut in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Nita Desai in 1999. Following her exit from the soap in 2000, she appeared in various television series, including two guest appearances on the BBC soap opera Doctors, appearances in the BBC medical dramas Holby City and Casualty and portraying Dr Newton in two episodes of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She then starred in the ITV miniseries The Golden Hour as Nina Osbourne in 2005. In 2012, she made her film debut in the feature film John Carter. In 2018, it was announced that she had been cast as series regular Manpreet Jutla in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Then in 2022, she competed in the revival of the ITV series The Games.

## Personal life

Sarker has two sons.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999–2000 | Coronation Street | Nita Desai | Series regular; 122 episodes |
| 2002 | Believe Nothing | PC Haywain | Episode: "May as Well Face It, You're Addicted to Fudge" |
| 2003, 2009 | Doctors | Tepali Sharma / Deborah Mortimer | 3 episodes |
| 2003, 2006, 2017 | Holby City | Nina Sharma / Carla Harris / Gayle Travis | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Fallen | Nisha Mehta | Television film. Main role |
| 2005 | The Golden Hour | Nina Osbourne | Mini-series. Main role; 4 episodes |
| 2005 | The Brief | DI Joan Fernandes | Episode: "The Architect's Wife" |
| 2005 | Broken News | Correspondant | Mini-series; Episode: "Hijack" |
| 2006 | Rosemary & Thyme | Blanca Parfitt | Episode: "Racquet Espanol" |
| 2007 | EastEnders | Dr. Newton | 2 episodes |
| 2010, 2014 | Casualty | Alison Roberts / DCI Jackie Prior | 2 episodes: "Leave Me Alone" and "The Lies We Tell" |
| 2012 | John Carter | Stayman #1 / Navigator | Feature film |
| 2012 | Twenty Twelve | TV Reporter, Hilary | 2 episodes: "Boycott: Part 1" and "Clarence House" |
| 2018 | Dark Heart | Smita Williams | Episode: "Dead Men Don't Pay Debts: Part 1" |
| 2018–present | Emmerdale | Manpreet Sharma | Series regular |
| 2022 | The Games | Herself – Contestant | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Celebrity Catchphrase | Herself – Contestant | Episode: "Les Dennis, Rebecca Sarker and Jordan Stephens" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2022 | 2022 British Soap Awards | Best Leading Performer | Nominated |
| 2022 | 27th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Nominated |
| 2023 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (shared with Kevin Mathurin) | Nominated |