Parminder Nagra is set to take centre stage in ITV’s latest thriller DI Ray – but this isn’t the first major project the star has been involved in.
The four-parter – which was written by Line of Duty actress Maya Sondhi and produced by Jed Mercurio – follows Detective Rachita Ray (Parminder) who finally gets her long-awaited promotion, only to be told her first case is a culturally specific murder.
The synopsis reads: ‘Her heart sinks as she realises she has only got the job due to her Indian heritage, but she is convinced this is no “honour” murder and finds herself deep in the world of organised crime.’
As well as the developments of the murder investigation, the programme will also explore racism in the workplace and promises to ask ‘difficult questions about what it’s like to be British but feel “other”.’
But what else has the leading lady starred in?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Parminder Nagra?
The 46-year-old actress grew up in Leicester and made her first TV debut in 1994, with a role in the medical drama Casualty.
DI Ray is Parminder’s first leading TV drama role, and the star expressed the challenges that come with that.
During Friday’s edition of The One Show, she said: ‘In this, we were shooting four episodes so four hours of TV all in one go. So in the morning, you could be doing something for episode four and in the afternoon you could be doing something from episode one.
‘So just trying to get my brain around that and having to constantly keep asking the script supervisor “where did I just come from now or did that thing happen to me?”‘
She continued: ‘So just keeping the track of that and making sure you’re end point was a challenge but hopefully we did it.’
Parminder got married in 2009 to James Stenson with whom she shares a child.
What else has Parminder Nagra been in?
Parminder co-starred in Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 comedy-drama Bend It Like Beckham, alongside Keira Knightly (Jules) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Joe).
As central character Jesminder ‘Jess’ Bhamra, the star played the daughter of British Indian Sikhs living in Hounslow who are reluctant to let her pursue her passion for football, in part due to fear of racism.
Playing behind their backs, Jess gets the chance to make friends, enjoy the possibility of a relationship and look at pursuing football professionally.
Parminder’s performance in the beloved flick resulted in her becoming the first female winner of the FIFA Presidential Award back in 2002 – however, she recently !
The 46-year-old followed in the footsteps of her character and headed to the US, where she landed a starring role in the hit TV show ER, staying for six years as Dr Neela Rasgotra until 2009.
She also acted opposite in Ella Enchanted in 2004.
Since then, Parminder has carved out a voice acting career with projects like Batman: Gotham Knight and Postman Pat: The Movie, as well as like Alcatraz, The Blacklist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, 13 Reasons Why and a guest spot on Elementary.
DI Ray airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.
