Rokhsaneh Ghawam-shahidi

Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidiis an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Leyla Harding in ITV soap Emmerdale. In 2024, she is set to appear as a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice.

Career

Shahidi began her career as part of Contact Young Actors Company in 2004 and went on to work for Peskar Productions as a drama workshop leader in Oldham and Bolton. Her theatre credits include East is East, Janus (for West Yorkshire Playhouse), Christie Malry's Own Double Entry at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, Freshly Scratched (for the Battersea Arts Centre) and Rafta, Rafta... at the National Theatre.

Shahidi made her on-screen debut in the BBC Three comedy-drama series Sinchronicity in 2006. She has also acted in radio plays, e.g. Nadeem Aslam's Maps for Lost Lovers. From November 2012 through to January 2013 she played the role of Shahrazad in the Manchester Library Theatre Company performances of Arabian Nights at the Lowry Theatre in Salford, near Manchester.

In August 2008, Shahidi joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Leyla Harding. After departing the role in August 2011, Shahidi returned to Emmerdale for two episodes in December 2013, before reprising the role on a permanent basis from January 2014. In 2024, Shahidi will appear as a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice.