Bhavna Limbachia
Limbachia in 2015
Born
Bhavna Jayanty Limbachia[1]

(1984-04-21) 21 April 1984[2]
Preston, Lancashire, England[3]
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present
Notable workCitizen Khan (2012–2016)
Coronation Street (2016–2019)
Spouse
Darren Kuppan
​
(m. 2018)​

Bhavna Jayanty Limbachia (born 21 April 1984) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Alia Khan in the BBC comedy Citizen Khan (2012–2016)[4] and Rana Habeeb in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2016–2019).[5]

Early life and education

Limbachia was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1984 to an Indian-born mother and a Kenyan-born father. She is a Hindu.[6]

Limbachia studied photography, fashion and textiles at college, then moved onto a degree course in Costume Design at Bretton Hall, an affiliate college of the University of Leeds.[7][8]

Before going into acting, Limbachia worked in costume departments on several film sets including Chicken Tikka Masala in 2005, Bradford Riots in 2006 as a costume trainee, and All Day Breakfast in 2008. In 2010, she set up her own business designing and selling vintage clothing and accessories.[9]

Limbachia took an office with Trading Standards and saved up money to do an acting course at the Manchester School of Acting.

Career

Through drama school, Limbachia landed her first role in theatre in the play Rafta Rafta, written by Ayub Khan Din who also wrote East Is East.[10]

Limbachia made her television debut in 2012 playing the character Alia Khan in the BBC comedy series Citizen Khan.[11] The character wears a hijab, tight jeans and tops, and a lot of make-up.[12]

In February 2016, Limbachia joined the long-running ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, playing Rana Habeeb as a love interest for character Zeedan Nazir. In January 2019, Limbachia announced her departure from the show, with Rana being killed off later in the year. She departed in the episode broadcast on 20 March 2019.[13]

Rana was the show's first muslim lesbian character and her partnership with Faye Brookes, who plays her lover Kate Connor has been highlighted amongst fans and the community. The storyline in which Rana discovers her sexuality and her parents’ subsequent disappointment was praised and the two characters gained the supercouple name ‘Kana’.[14][15] The Rana and Kate storyline was named as one of the Top 10 LGBT+ Media Moments in the British LGBT Awards 2019.[16]

Personal life

Limbachia married actor Darren Kuppan in July 2018 at Thornton Manor in a British and Indian ceremony.[17]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2012–2016 Citizen Khan Alia Khan
2013 Doctors Anita Achari
2014 Casualty Suraya Afzal
2014 Pramface Nicola
2014 Mount Pleasant Hostess
2015 Cuffs[18] PC Misha Baig
2015 Horrible Histories[19] Various
2015 Tez Ilyas's Christmas[20] Sofia Christmas special
2016–2019 Coronation Street Rana Habeeb Regular role
2021 Inside No. 9 Jo Episode: "Hurry Up and Wait"
2022 Ridley Geri Farman All 4 episodes
2022-present Brassic Meena

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2016 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Newcomer Nominated [21]
2016 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Newcomer Fourth [22]
2017 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Relationship (shared with Faye Brookes) Second [23]
2018 The British Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [24]
2018 The British Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Brookes) Nominated [25]
2018 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Actress Nominated [26]
2018 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (shared with Brookes) Nominated [27]
2018 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (shared with Brookes) Nominated [28]
2019 The British Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [29]
2019 Inside Soap Awards Best Exit Shortlisted [30]

References

  1. ↑ "So who is Bhavna?". Bhavnalimbachia.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Bourne, Dianne (23 April 2018). "Who is Rana Nazir actress Bhavna Limbachia in Coronation Street?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Brown, David (1 August 2016). "Citizen Khan actress Bhavna Limbachia joins Coronation Street to play Rana – a new love interest for Zeedan". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "A new sitcom for BBC One created by and starring Adil Ray". BBC. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Portfolio - Coronation Street". Bhavnalimbachia.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Coronation Street to introduce Rana's brother Imran, reveals Bhavna Limbachia". Radio Times. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Interview with Bhavna Limbachia". Amagazine. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Baig, Anila (28 November 2018). "Researching Rana: Coronation Street Star Bhavna Limbachia on THAT Plot Twist". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. ↑ Allcock, Beth (6 February 2018). "Coronation Street's Bhavna Limbachia: Everything you need to know from her acting career to her secret business". OK Magazine. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  10. ↑ Baig, Anila (28 November 2018). "Researching Rana: Coronation Street Star Bhavna Limbachia on THAT Plot Twist". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Baig, Anila (28 November 2018). "Researching Rana: Coronation Street Star Bhavna Limbachia on THAT Plot Twist". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  12. ↑ Alia Khan bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2019
  13. ↑ Tutton, Charlotte (29 March 2019). "How did Rana die in Coronation Street, and what happened to the factory?". The Mirror. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Bourne, Dianne (7 November 2018). "Who is Rana Nazir actress Bhavna Limbachia in Coronation Street?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Hughes, Johnathon (3 June 2019). "Faye Brookes speaks out on Coronation Street exit: "I was ready to say goodbye to Kana"". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  16. ↑ Signature Living - Top 10 LGBT+ Media Moments www.britishlgbtawards.com. Retrieved 5 July 2019
  17. ↑ "Corrie's Bhavna Limbachia shares snaps from stunning wedding". 28 July 2018.
  18. ↑ "Cuffs – meet the cast". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Waring and Mckenna Clients". Waring and Mckenna.
  20. ↑ "Sky Arts to broadcast 12 Christmas specials". British Comedy Guide. 25 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Tv Choice Awards 2016- The Longlist". digitalspy.co.uk. 17 May 2016.
  22. ↑ Eames, Tom (24 December 2016). "Your Digital Spy Reader Awards soap winners of 2016: Emmerdale wins six awards". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  23. ↑ Sandwell, Ian (29 December 2017). "Emmerdale almost achieves clean sweep at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2017". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  24. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (10 April 2018). "British Soap Awards 2018 nominations revealed: Which Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Doctors stars are up?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  25. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (1 May 2018). "Coronation Street tops the British Soap Awards 2018 shortlist as the full nominations are revealed". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "TV Choice Awards 2018". ITV. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  27. ↑ Davies, Megan (23 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed: Which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  28. ↑ Gonzalez, Elliot (3 November 2018). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS Nominations 2018". I Talk Telly.
  29. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (9 April 2019). "British Soap Awards 2019 nominations revealed: Which Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Doctors stars are up?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  30. ↑ Harp, Justin (30 September 2019). "Inside Soap Awards 2019 full shortlist revealed – which stars are up for prizes?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
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