Waterloo Road: Samia actress Priyasha Kumari talks breaking barriers

About a twelvemonth ago, Priyasasha Kumari was pulling 10-hour shifts astatine Aldi and moving astatine a Post Office to marque ends meet. Now she's connected our screens successful Waterloo Road.

Priyasasha had conscionable finished a 10-hour supermarket displacement erstwhile she got the call.

She'd won the relation of Samia Chaudhary successful acclaimed precocious schoolhouse play Waterloo Road.

Since the caller bid launched connected BBC One past month, Priyasasha says we've seen Samia's "fierce, empowering" property travel out.

She says the Year 11is "not acrophobic to talk her mind" - thing Priyasasha thinks there's a deficiency of successful South Asian parts .

But she feels her caller relation is simply a measurement successful the close absorption for South Asian practice on-screen.

"I deliberation successful the opening you tin get stereotyped for peculiar roles and I deliberation it's truly large for america to interruption those barriers," Priyasha told BBC Asian Network.

"A batch of the clip South Asian characters are enactment into a pigeon hole.

"If she's a young girl, she's oppressed by her parents, she doesn't person overmuch ambition and she can't bash thing successful beingness that she aspires to do".

"What Samia's quality does is interruption each of those stereotypes. She has a dependable of her ain and leads the mode for her chap classmates."

Priyasasha besides says her character's steering distant from aged narratives often associated with South Asian culture.

She points retired however Samia's "interracial relationship" with Preston Waters, played by Noah Valentine "wasn't made a 'thing'.

"It wasn't addressed. It was conscionable arsenic it was," says Priyasasha.

"Society contiguous has changed and everyone is moving with the times," she says.

"Many young radical tin subordinate to that and subordinate to her and the situations she goes through".

Since starting the amusement she's received a batch of support, peculiarly from the Asian community.

"A batch of girls connection maine saying it's truthful astonishing to spot you connected our screens, convey you truthful overmuch for telling a communicative and representing us".

"When I grew up I didn't spot anybody that was similar maine connected the telly."

"It's rather taboo trying to speech astir being a originative successful an Asian household and I deliberation if there's much representation….[it gives] families a accidental to recognize it and get down and beryllium supportive".

Priyasasha, who graduated successful 2016, says determination was a "two-year gap" earlier she managed to interruption into the industry.

She auditioned for BBC soap Doctors successful 2018 and juggled 2 jobs - Aldi and the Post Office - portion trying to get much acting work.

"Sometimes I'd decorativeness a ten-hour shift, and past I'd person to travel home, larn my lines, bash a self-tape, spell to slumber and bash it each implicit again," she says.

And it was aft a agelong time astatine her full-time occupation that she got the bully quality astir Waterloo Road.

"I recovered retired similar a ten-hour displacement that I got the occupation truthful it was a brainsick thing," she says.

Priyasasha, who's from Blakenhall successful the West Midlands, present hopes to usage her level to proceed telling much relatable stories "that correspond america arsenic young brownish Asian girls".

And contempt the uncertainties of the manufacture she's "excited for what's to come, due to the fact that you ne'er cognize what's going to happen".

"You're perpetually surviving successful the unknown," she says.

"There's similar a 1000 no's earlier you get that yes.

"You truly person to judge successful yourself."

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