Viewers tuning in to Jed Mercurio ITV drama DI Ray over the last couple of days can’t help but wonder where they’ve seen star, Parminder Nagra before. The 46-year-old, who plays the titular DI Ray hails from Leicester and, for most people, she is perhaps best known for her role as Jess Kaur Bhamra in early noughties cult classic, Bend It Like Beckham.
In the film, Parminder’s character is a Sikh footballer who idolises David Beckham and defies her parents to pursue her dreams of playing football. Believe it or not - Parminder was quite indifferent to football but wanted to get involved due to the film's ‘funny and touching’ story.
Whilst preparing for Bend It Like Beckham, Parminder naturally had to undertake an extensive training course, even learning to ‘bend’ a football in flight (as seen in the film). Bend It Like Beckham, which also kickstarted co-star Keira Knightley’s career, was both a critical and financial success and took $30 million at the box office. Parminder’s role was praised and so began a prosperous film and TV career for the actress.
READ MORE: DI Ray: Is the new ITV drama a true story?
Straight out of filming Bend It Like Beckham, Parminder jumped into a role opposite Anne Hathaway in Ella Enchanted. The 2004 film, which was based on a 1997 novel of the same name, played with the fairy tale genre. Unfortunately for Parminder, it didn’t achieve the same level of success as Bend It Like Beckham. She did, however, achieve success when she appeared in the renowned Netflix film, Bird Box in 2018 opposite Sandra Bullock.
Parminder hasn’t just acted in films either. Following her role in Ella Enchanted, she would go on to star in a Channel 4 version of Twelfth Night and also Anglo-Indian drama Second Generation. It was this move into television that would set her on the path to her next popular role.
Whilst promoting Bend It Like Beckham, Parminder was told by her agent that the producer of medical drama ER would like to meet with her. John Wells, producer of the cult American show later cast Parminder as Neela Rasgotra - a role specifically written for her and one that allowed her to use her own British accent. The character was generally praised and even made BuzzFeed’s top 16 Hottest Doctors on Television in 2012. Parminder played the role from 2003 to 2009.
Following her departure from ER, Parminder appeared in other American shows such as The Blacklist (2013-2014) and also 13 Reasons Why. She has also made guest appearances in Sherlock Holmes show Elementary, a recurring role in Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and a role in the animated Tron: Uprising.
DI Ray marks the first time that Parminder has starred in a leading role. Upon taking the role, Parminder told ITV that she was interested in the part because of Jed Mercurio. “I live in LA now and it’s not always easy for me to make decisions about being away from home, but I just felt like this project ticked enough of the right boxes for me. I didn’t quite realise how much hard work it would be - I was in almost every single scene.”
DI Ray has also been praised for its tackling of racism and that was another of the reasons that Parminder wanted to get involved with the project. She told ITV, “I can’t think of anywhere else we’ve actually seen that represented on TV.”
Parminder currently lives in LA and has one son with photographer James Stenson.
You can catch her in the next episode of DI Ray on ITV at 9pm on Wednesday, May 4.
