# Ambika Mod

Ambika Bhakti Mod (/ˈʌmbɪkə ˈbʌkti ˈmoʊd/; born 2 October 1995) is a British actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her roles in the BBC drama series This Is Going to Hurt (2022) and the Netflix miniseries One Day (2024).

## Early life and education

Mod grew up in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants; her mother arrived in the UK as a child, and her father in his 20s. Mod attended Dame Alice Owen's School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Studies from St Mary's College, Durham.
Early in her career, Mod worked as a personal assistant at Condé Nast as her day job while doing comedy at night. She studied acting at Theatrix Performing Arts of St Albans, based at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans. At Durham, she did sketch comedy through the university's Revue, performing with Tom Harper at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and serving as the troupe's president in 2017. She formed a duo, Megan from HR, with Andrew Shires. She performs regularly at improvised comedy theatre The Free Association in London.

## Career

Following a series of short films, Fair Bnb, Granddaughter, The Sacrifice (aka Leila Margot) and Pet Name, Mod appeared as Shruti Acharya, a struggling junior doctor alongside Ben Whishaw in Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt (2022), a medical drama based on his memoir of the same name. The series earned critical acclaim; The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg praised Mod as the highlight among the "regular female characters" and added that she made "Shruti's earnest fragility into the show's true heart". However, he also acknowledged that her character is used more as a vehicle for Kay's actions. For her performance, Mod was chosen for the 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort and received the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. Through the programme for the former, Mod met Emma Thompson who became her mentor.
In 2024, Mod played Emma Morley in Netflix's One Day, based on David Nicholls' novel of the same name. It tells the story of two young people (Mod and Leo Woodall) who meet annually for 14 years following a one-night stand; she initially declined the part due to the intense nature of her role in This Is Going to Hurt forming doubts about her ability to play a romantic lead. Reflecting on her original decision, she said, "I think part of the reason why I just didn't see myself playing that part was because insidiously and implicitly, that's a message that I’ve been fed my entire life—that people who look like me aren't romantic leads, that people who look like me aren't the people who the male romantic lead will fall in love with". Her performance received critical acclaim and the role proved to be a major breakthrough in her career. One Day was the most-watched Netflix series globally during the week of its release. Writing for The Guardian, Chitra Ramaswamy commended Mod as a "revelation", and added that, "It is hard to believe this is her first lead role". Whilst discussing her character's alteration in ethnicity from the novel and the film adaptation, she expressed her hope that it would "open people's minds a little bit", and said she was "aware how significant it will be to a lot of people, especially young women of colour, young South Asian women in particular".
Mod will appear in the Disney+ thriller series The Stolen Girl and in Sacrifice, an action adventure comedy directed and co-written by Romain Gavras.

## Media image

In 2024, she was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 - Europe - Entertainment list, for her advocacy for industry representation as well as her performances in This Is Going to Hurt and One Day. The Sunday Times named Mod as one of the 25 most inspiring people aged 30 and under in the UK and Ireland. In late 2024, Mod was on Time Magazine's annual list of 100 emerging leaders shaping the future. Mindy Kaling wrote: "it feels like there’s nothing to make you sit up, lean forward, and say, 'Wow, I’ve never seen that before.' But that’s exactly how I felt when I saw Ambika Mod in [...] One Day." Mod was named one of Harper's Bazaar UK 2024 Women of the Year, and was named their Breakthrough of the Year. In November 2024, Mod was received one of British GQ's Man of the Year awards.
In February 2025, Mod was selected for Elle's 40 For 40: Women In Film And Television List, a "power list of the women who'll shape the coming decades in film and television." Author Hanna Flint wrote: "Ambika is a rising star in television, [...] she’s reshaping what it means to be a leading lady."

## Acting credits

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2025 | Black Bag | Angela Childs | | |
| TBA | Sacrifice † | Katie | Post-production | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2019 | The Mash Report | Sarah / Average Young Person | Series 4, Episode 6 |
| 2020 | The B@it | Samantha | Episode: "Ending other people's relationships" |
| 2021 | Trying | Usher | Series 2, Episode 8: "I'm Scared" |
| 2022 | This Is Going to Hurt | Shruti Acharya | Main role. Miniseries; Episodes 1-7 |
| 2022 | Martin Fishback | Samah | Television special |
| 2022 | I Hate Suzie | Una Finch | Series 2, Episodes 1&3 |
| 2024 | One Day | Emma Morley | Main role. Miniseries; Episodes 1-14 |
| 2025 | The Stolen Girl † | Selma Desai | Post-production. Main role. Miniseries; Episodes 1-5 |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2015 | Cirque du Silly | Self | Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| 2019 | Children of the Quorn | Self | Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| 2024 | 3 | Self | Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
| 2024 | White Rabbit Red Rabbit | Self | @sohoplace |

### Audio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2022 | Doctor Who: Redacted | Captain Chopra | BBC Sounds | |
| 2024 | Bleak House | Esther Summerson | Audible | |

### Other television appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2024 | Comic Relief: Funny for Money | Self | Red Nose Day fundraising telethon | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
| 2020 | Funny Women Awards | Stage Award | | Semi-finalist |
| 2022 | Edinburgh TV Awards | Breakthrough Talent – Actor | This Is Going to Hurt | Nominated |
| 2023 | BPG Television, Streaming and Audio Awards | Best Actress | This Is Going to Hurt | Won |
| 2023 | RTS Programme Awards | Supporting Actor – Female | This Is Going to Hurt | Won |
| 2024 | Gotham TV Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Limited Series | One Day | Nominated |
| 2024 | Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards | Breakthrough of the Year | One Day | Won |
| 2024 | Rose d'Or Awards | Emerging Talent | One Day | Won |
| 2024 | Women In Film & TV Awards | Netflix New Talent Award | One Day | Won |
| 2025 | Newport Beach Film Festival U.K. Honours | Spotlight Artist Award | One Day | Won |
| 2025 | RTS Programme Awards | Leading Actor – Female | One Day | Nominated |