After starting out as a child actress, it took a good 15 years before British actress Archie Panjabi cracked the big time in 1999 indie hit East Is East, followed by Bend It Like Beckham (2002) opposite Keira Knightley
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Archie Panjabi and Jack Davenport star in ITV's new thriller tackling family and terrorism
But it was Archie’s scene-stealing turn as enigmatic criminal investigator Kalinda Sharma in six seasons of US legal hit The Good Wife that catapulted her to international fame and won Archie an Emmy Award.
Now it means that Archie, at the age of 45, is finally up for well-deserved lead roles rather than supporting parts. She turned down a handful of roles after leaving The Good Wife in 2015, in order to wait for a part that was “a good match”. Next Of Kin, a new ITV thriller, tackling family ties and terrorism, is that.
It sees Archie in her first big lead TV role as Mona Harcourt, a successful London GP whose life is upended by tragedy.
Very much the heart and head of her extended British-Asian family, Mona is also happily married to Guy, a political lobbyist played by Pirates Of The Caribbean’s Jack Davenport, with whom she has a son.