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.
