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
[edit]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.[citation needed] She went on to study veterinary medicine at University of Bristol, later switching to physiology.[citation needed]
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
[edit]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
[edit]Film
[edit]| 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 | ||
| 2025 | 100 Nights of Hero | Esa |
Television
[edit]| 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 | Series 15 (main cast) | |
| TBA | The Other Bennet Sister | Ann Baxter | Filming |
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
