Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha |
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Nadia Sawalha (born November 18, 1964 in Wandsworth, London, England) is an English actress and television presenter.
Nadia is perhaps best known for her role as Annie Palmer in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, though she has also appeared in Celebrity Driving School for Comic Relief and currently presents daytime television.
She currently hosts the morning BBC1 show called Living in the Sun, about British ex-pats living in Spain, made by Ricochet.
She can also be seen on Accidents Can Happen a daytime BBC One programme produced by Twofour, which follows families as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives following disaster.
Acting
After training at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Nadia, who hails from a family of successful actors, began her career in theatre.
In 1997 she got her big break in the BBC soap EastEnders. As the tough-nut business woman Annie Palmer, Nadia became a familiar face in thousands of homes around the UK. She remained in the role until 1999.
Her other acting television credits include Casualty, Second Thoughts, Which Way to the War and the ITV police drama, The Bill.
She has also appeared in the films Clockwise, Top Tips, Sleeping with the Fishes and BBC Victorian drama Station Jim.
Change of direction
Aside from acting, Nadia has become a daytime TV favourite after presenting the live programmes Loose Women and Live Talk.
For the BBC, she has fronted four series of Passport to the Sun, the Total series, TV Mail, Perfect Partner and Family Exchange. She is also a co-host on the live documentary City Hospital.
Nadia has appeared as a guest on Test the Nation and contributed to Comic Relief by taking part in Celebrity Driving School.
Nadia will join Adrian Chiles to present The One Show, which is due to launch on BBC1 in the summer of 2006. The Nationwide-style show will feature a mix of interviews, factual features and topical stories.
Personal life
Nadia is the daughter of the actor Nadim Sawalha, and sister of television star, Julia Sawalha. The three all starred together in Dearest Daddy... Darling Daughter at the Young Vic Theatre in South London in 1997.
On Christmas day 1997 her first husband Justin Mildwater, committed suicide shortly after Sawalha left him.
She once dated her EastEnders co-star Marc Bannerman, who played her on-screen love interest Gianni di Marco. She is now married to her second husband, Mark Adderley, and has a daughter called Maddy, who was born on Christmas day 2002.