Paige Sandhu

Paige Sandhu is an English actress. She began her career with appearances in Doctors and Endeavour, before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale (2020–2022). For her portrayal, she received critical acclaim, won Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards two years in a row and won Best Leading Performer at the 2022 British Soap Awards.

Paige Sandhu
Sandhu in 2022
Alma mater	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Agent	Williamson & Holmes[1]
Television	Emmerdale
Awards	Full list

Early life

Sandhu was born in the United Kingdom to an Indian father and English mother.^[2][3][4] After attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Sandhu suffered from social anxiety, fear of judgement and fears about her future career. She moved back in with her parents and "became quite reclusive".^[5] She felt unsafe around people she did not know which led her to not leave the house much, as well as developing insomnia and various food intolerances.^[5]

Career

Sandhu made her debut in television appearances in the BBC soap opera Doctors and the ITV drama series Endeavour.^[6]

In September 2020, it was announced that Sandhu had been cast in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Meena Jutla, the sister of established character Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker).^[7] In June 2021, it was confirmed that Meena would become a serial killer on the soap.^[8] Sandhu received critical acclaim for her performances as Meena,^[9][10] and in 2021, she won the award for Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards, and was nominated for Best Newcomer.^[11] In 2022, she was nominated for an award in the Soap Actor category at the TRIC Awards.^[12] Sandhu has confirmed that after the conclusion of Meena's serial killer arc, she will be leaving the soap.^[13] Her final scenes aired on 18 April 2022 when her character was sentenced to life in prison.^[14] In 2023, Sandhu was announced to be starring in the upcoming film Lioness.^[15] She will portray Princess Sophia, who was one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the UK.^[16]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
Un­known	Doctors	Un­known	2 episodes	[1]
2016	Endeavour	Cashier (uncredited)	Episode: "Arcadia"	[1]
2020–2022	Emmerdale	Meena Jutla	Regular role	[17]
TBA	Lioness	Princess Sophia	Film	[18]

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Inside Soap Awards	Best Newcomer	Nominated	[19]
2021	Inside Soap Awards	Best Villain	Won	[11]
2021	Asian Media Awards	Best TV Character	Nominated	[20]
2022	The British Soap Awards	Best Leading Performer	Won	[21]
2022	The British Soap Awards	Villain of the Year	Nominated	[21]
2022	TRIC Awards	Best Soap Actor	Nominated	[12]
2022	27th National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance	Shortlisted	[22]
2022	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	[23]
2022	Inside Soap Awards	Best Villain	Won	[24][25]
2022	Asian Media Awards	Best TV Character	Nominated	[26]
2022	TV Choice Awards	Best Soap Actress	Shortlisted	[27]
2022	Digital Spy Reader Awards	Best Soap Actor (Female)	Third	[28]
2022	TVTimes Awards	Favourite Soap Star	Nominated	[29][30]

References

1. Richards, Evelyn (7 October 2020). "Who plays Meena Jutla in Emmerdale and what else has actress Paige been in?". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
2. "Emmerdale's Paige Sandhu lives in a unique and eclectic home as she exits soap". 21 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
3. Shackleton, Liz (23 May 2023). "Aditi Rao Hydari & Paige Sandhu Feature 'Lioness' Set As First Official UK-India Co-Production". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
4. Lulupa, Jill. "Who is Paige Sandhu? The actress behind Emmerdale's serial killer Meena". Birmingham Mail. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
5. Kitson, Calli (23 March 2022). "Emmerdale Meena star Paige Sandhu explains why she keeps long term love private". Metro. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
6. O'Sullivan, Kyle (20 October 2020). "Emmerdale Meena actress' real-life love, secret she kept from dad and future death". Daily Mirror. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
7. Davies, Megan (7 September 2020). "Emmerdale announces three new characters in big autumn shake-up". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
8. Sansome, Jessica (28 June 2021). "Murder shock in Emmerdale as Meena takes first victim". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
9. Brown, David (28 June 2021). "8 plotlines that will turn Emmerdale's Meena into a top soap serial killer". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
10. Lindsay, Duncan (21 October 2021). "Emmerdale's Meena Jutla may be the most unique and entertaining soap villain ever". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
11. Shackleton, Niamh (23 November 2021). "Emmerdale's Meena actress crowned Best Villain at Inside Soap Awards". OK!. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
12. "Public poll". Television and Radio Industries Club. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
13. Allday, Jasmine (5 January 2022). "Emmerdale Meena actress will 'miss everything' about her as she confirms exit from ITV soap". Daily Mirror. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
14. Denby, Laura (17 April 2022). "Paige Sandhu vows to keep playing evil after Emmerdale's Meena". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
15. "Aditya Rao Hydari, Paige Sandhu to star in Indo-British production 'Lioness'". ThePrint. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
16. Ramachandran, Naman (23 May 2023). "'Emmerdale' Actor Paige Sandhu, 'Jubilee' Star Aditi Rao Hydari to Lead U.K.-India Co-Production 'Lioness'". Variety. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
17. Kilkelly, Daniel; Dainty, Sophie (24 September 2020). "Emmerdale newcomer Paige Sandhu warns newcomer Meena will have enemies". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
18. "Aditya Rao Hydari, Paige Sandhu to star in Indo-British production 'Lioness'". Devdiscourse. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
19. Alexander, Susannah (28 September 2021). "Inside Soap Awards announces 2021 longlist as voting opens – here's who's up for prizes". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
20. Kumari, Priyanca (30 October 2021). "EastEnders star Jaz Deol wins award for Kheerat Panesar role". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
21. "British Soap Awards 2022!". ITV. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
22. Earp, Catherine (13 October 2022). "National Television Awards: Full winners list". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
23. Harp, Justin (18 July 2022). "Inside Soap Awards announces nominations and new category for 2022 event". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
24. Mwitumwa, Monde (17 October 2022). "Emmerdale stars glam up for Inside Soap Awards 2022 as Mark Charnock and Paige Sandhu win gongs". Leeds Live. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
25. Harp, Justin (10 October 2022). "Inside Soap Awards announce final shortlist for 2022 ceremony". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
26. "Asian Media Awards 2022 Finalists". Asian Media Awards. 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
27. Rodger, James (9 August 2022). "TV Choice Awards nominations list announced in full". Birmingham Mail. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
28. Rowan, Iona (27 December 2022). "EastEnders wins big at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2022". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
29. "TV Times Awards 2022 — voting is now open!". What to Watch. (Future plc). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
30. Crick, Claire. "EastEnders sweeps the board at the TV Times Awards 2022". What to Watch. (Future plc). Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2023.

External links

• Paige Sandhu at IMDb