Shobna Gulati: ‘If I could choose to bring something extinct back to life? A 1970s disco’

<p>The actor on a treasured wedding bangle, a ‘secretarial’ job that was anything but, and a painful incident at the theatre</p><p>Born in Oldham, Shobna&nbsp;Gulati, 59, studied Arabic and Middle Eastern politics at the&nbsp;University of&nbsp;Manchester. She appeared in Dinnerladies before taking a long-running role in Coronation Street in 2001. Her stage work includes the National Theatre’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/oct/03/a-tupperware-of-ashes-review-dorfman-theatre-meera-syal">A Tupperware of Ashes</a>, and she played Ray in UK and US productions of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and the 2021 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/16/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-review-the-full-monty-in-drag">film version</a>. In 2020, she published <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/remember-me-9781914240584/">Remember Me? Discovering My Mother As She Lost Her Memory</a>. Gulati has a son and is&nbsp;based in London where she is appearing in <a href="https://www.noelcowardtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-importance-of-being-earnest">The&nbsp;Importance of Being Earnest</a> at the Noël Coward theatre until 10 January.</p><p><strong>When were you happiest?</strong><br>
In recent times, when I&nbsp;was looking after my mum. She would take me on journeys in her mind and I’d travel with her wherever she went. I&nbsp;felt happy that I had the opportunity to have that time despite her illness.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/25/shobna-gulati-actor-interview">Continue reading...</a>