Varada Sethu
Varada Sethu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Varada Sethumadhavan 12 May 1992 Kerala, India |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Dame Allan's Schools, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Varada Sethu (born Varada Sethumadhavan, 12 May 1992) is a British actress. Her credits include Sket (2010), English: An Autumn in London (2012), Doctors (2015), New Blood (2016), Doctor Foster (2017), Hanna (2019), Strike Back: Vendetta (2020), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), and Annika (2023).
She portrayed Detective Sergeant Mishal Ali in Hard Sun (2018), Cinta Kaz in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor (2022–2025), and Belinda Chandra in Doctor Who (2025).
Early life
Varada Sethumadhavan was born on 12 May 1992 in Kerala, India.[1][2][3] She and her twin sister Abhaya are of Malayali ancestry.[3][4] Sethu's parents are doctors. She moved to the North East of England at a young age and she grew up in Benton, Tyne and Wear,[5] near Newcastle upon Tyne. Sethu attended Dame Allan's Schools and was a member of the National Youth Theatre.[5] During her final year of sixth form, Sethu won the 2010 Miss Newcastle competition. She went on to study veterinary medicine at University of Bristol, later switching to physiology.
Sethu has been performing the Indian classical dance traditions of both Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam from a young age.[3] Sethu continued her acting education at the Identity School of Acting in London.[6][7]
Career
In 2010, Sethu made her debut appearance on screen in the short film Impressions as Samena.[8] In 2011, Sethu landed the role of Kiran in the feature film Sket,[5] then as Meghana Scariah in English: An Autumn in London in 2012.[9] In 2015 she made an appearance as PC Kylie Green in the 2000 TV series Doctors.[9]
Her career continued in 2016 appearing as Peaseblossom in a 2016 TV movie version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.[6], Now You See Me 2 and New Blood.[9]
In 2017, Sethu appeared as Aisha in two episodes of Doctor Foster.[9] In 2018, Sethu starred as DS Mishal Ali for six episodes in the BBC apocalyptic TV crime series Hard Sun.[10]
In 2019, Sethu performed as a series regular in season seven of Strike Back: Revolution as Lance Corporal Manisha Chetri of the British Army.[11][12] In 2022, She played rebel Cinta Kaz in both seasons of Andor.[4]
In 2025, Sethu portrayed the companion Belinda Chandra in Doctor Who alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in series 15.[13][14] Prior to this, she played Mundy Flynn in the series 14 episode "Boom".[15]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Impressions | Sameena | Short film[8] |
| 2011 | Sket | Kiran | [5] |
| 2012 | English: An Autumn in London | Meghana Scariah | |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Peaseblossom | [16] |
| Now You See Me 2 | Tressler Assistant | [16] | |
| 2018 | Special Delivery | Parminder | Short film |
| 2020 | Bad News | Mindi | Short film |
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Shira | |
| I Came By | Naserine 'Naz' Raheem |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Doctors | PC Kylie Green | 1 episode |
| 2016 | New Blood | Indian Nurse | 3 episodes[16] |
| 2017 | Doctor Foster | Aisha | 2 episodes[10][16] |
| 2018 | Hard Sun | DS Mishal Ali | 6 episodes[10] |
| 2019 | Strike Back: Revolution | Lance Corporal Manisha Chetri, British Army | 10 episodes[12] |
| Hanna | CIA Analyst McArthur | 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | Strike Back: Vendetta | Lance Corporal Manisha Chetri, British Army | 9 episodes |
| 2023–present | Annika | DS Harper Weston | 4 episodes |
| 2022–2025 | Andor | Cinta Kaz | 10 episodes |
| 2024 | Doctor Who | Mundy Flynn | Series 14: "Boom" (supporting cast) |
| 2025 | Belinda Chandra[14] | Series 15 (main cast) | |
| TBA | The Other Bennet Sister | Ann Baxter | Filming |
References
- ^ Sethu, Varada [@varadasethu]; (12 May 2025). "Happy birthday to @abby_sethu, the other half of my heart". Archived from the original on 22 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ Sandhu, Amber; Swash, Rebecca (1 April 2025). "New Doctor Who star: 'I don't want to be a cautionary tale'". BBC. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "Between Shifts with the Nurse". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 618. July 2025. pp. 16–20.
- ^ a b Speicher, Jeffrey (30 October 2022). "Vel and Cinta's Relationship Shows Nothing Comes Before the Rebellion". Collider. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Geordie actress Aimee Kelly in line for film award". chroniclelive.co.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Portfolio: Varada Sethu". identityschoolofacting.com. 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021.
- ^ N, Aswin V. (22 November 2022). "Kerala-born British actor Varada Sethu on playing a rebel in 'Star Wars' show 'Andor'". The Hindu.
- ^ a b "Impressions (Short Film)". dailymotion.com. 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Verada Sethu Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Meet the cast of BBC1's Hard Sun". radiotimes.com. 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Strike Back's Varada Sethu: 'It Really Is A Season Unlike Any Other'". nerdophiles.com. 28 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Strike Back: 10 Best Characters Killed Off Prematurely In The Show". Screen Rant. 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Doctor Who - First Look at Ncuti Gatwa with Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson ahead of season two". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ a b James Hibbs (27 July 2024). "Doctor Who reveals who Varada Sethu will be playing". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
- ^ Stephen Kelly (15 May 2024). "Steven Moffat has written another Doctor Who classic". inew.co.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "From Miss Newcastle to TV star and the other North East female stars making it big". chroniclelive.co.uk. 2018.