Nadia Sawalha (born 18th November 1964) is a British actress and television presenter who appeared as Annie Palmer in EastEnders from May 1997 to June 1999.
After training at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Sawalha began her career in theatre. From 1997 to 1999, she starred in EastEnders as businesswoman Annie Palmer. Her other acting television credits include Casualty, Which Way to the War, ITV police drama, The Bill and Benidorm. Sawalha has also appeared in the films Clockwise (1986), Which Way to the War (1994), Slave of Dreams (1995), The Vanishing Man (1996) and the BBC Victorian drama Station Jim (2001).
From 1999 to 2002, Sawalha was a regular panellist on the lunchtime chat show Loose Women. She returned in October 2013.
In 2001, Sawalha presented the short-lived ITV quiz programme It's Not the Answer with Peter Dickinson as the announcer.
For the BBC, Sawalha has fronted four series of Passport to the Sun, the Total series, TV Mail, Heir Hunters, Perfect Partner and Family Exchange. She is also a co-host on the live documentary City Hospital. Sawalha has previously hosted the BBC One show Living in the Sun, about British expats living in Spain, made by Ricochet, and Wanted Down Under, which shows families who want to make the move Down Under (Australia, occasionally New Zealand) and what it would be like to live and work in those Antipodean nations. She can also be seen on Accidents Can Happen, a daytime BBC One programme produced by Twofour, which follows families as they try to rebuild their homes and their lives following disaster.
In 2005, Sawalha presented the BBC One programme Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre which followed learner drivers as they learnt to drive and took their driving tests with varying degrees of success. Sawalha was one of the learner drivers who ended up passing her driving test at the end of the second series. In the same year and on the same network, Sawalha also co-presented with Jeremy Milnes for the programme Keeping Up with the Joneses.
In the summer of 2006, Sawalha began co-presenting The One Show with Adrian Chiles. However, due to her pregnancy, she did not return to the show in the summer of 2007 and was replaced by Christine Bleakley.
After winning Celebrity MasterChef, Sawalha went on to co-present the children's version of the show Junior Masterchef, she was said to be 'delighted' to be given the chance to host the show.
In 2008, Sawalha returned to BBC One, to present the daytime programme, Wanted Down Under. She presented the 2009 programme Eating In The Sun, produced by her husband Mark Adderley and has Sawalha challenged by celebrity chefs to cook in their favourite holiday restaurants.
From 15th February until 20th August 2010, Sawalha presented the short-lived reality programme Instant Restaurant for BBC Two.
In December 2010, Sawalha starred in a fitness DVD entitled Nadia Sawalha: Fat To Fab, after losing three and a half stone.
In July 2011, Sawalha guest presented ITV Breakfast programme Lorraine and has since made regular appearances on the show, not only as a stand-in presenter but also as a resident chef.
In January 2011, Sawalha starred in the sixth series of ITV's Dancing on Ice with Scottish professional Mark Hanretty, but was voted out in a double elimination in the first week along with Angela Rippon and her partner Sean Rice.
In April 2012, she began co-presenting Saturday Cookbook on ITV Breakfast with chef Mark Sargeant
In 2012, Sawalha presented the UKTV Home series Kitchen SOS.
From 27th October to 29th December 2013, Sawalha and Kaye Adams co-hosted one series of Sunday Scoop, a cookery show.
From 7th January 2015, Sawalha took part in the fifteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5. She lasted 24 days in the house before being evicted.
Books[]
- Stuffed Vine Leaves Saved My Life (2010)
- Greedy Girl's Diet (2013)
- Greedy Girl's Diet: Second Helpings! (2013)
- Fabulous Family Food (2014)
- Nadia Sawalha's Little Black Dress Diet (2016)
- Nadia and Kaye: Disaster Chef (2018) – with Kaye Adams