My mother wanted to be a teacher when she was young, and my father didn't approve of it, so she fought very hard to become one. And she did it. So when I said I wanted to become an actress, my mother was very supportive. She always said to me, 'There's no such thing as 'can't.

At the end of the week, it's nice to just hang out in a pair of jeans and let my hair down. I need a break from all that fashion!

Since I was a baby my goal was to be on TV because film was just impossible - you never got any Asian women in Western cinema. I grew up wanting to be in 'East-Enders' because film wasn't even a dream. The community were very much like, 'How can you want to act? It's such a low-class profession.

Sometimes my ethnicity is relevant, other times not. I definitely get the best of both worlds.

I don't ever want to be hugely famous because I had a little taste of it after 'East Is East' and 'Bend It.'

I think it is vital to fight to do something you want to do despite not gaining your community's or your friends' approval.

I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an actor. I never even thought about other careers. The acting field is certainly not the path many Indian parents encourage their children to take, but mine were very supportive. They wanted me to have an education, but understood that this is what I wanted to do.