Ambika Mod stars opposite Leo Woodall in Netflix's hotly-anticipated new series, One Day. Based on David Nicholls' heartbreaking novel of the same name, the series follows Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, who cross paths for the first time on the night of their uni graduation in 1988. What follows is 20 years of many missed moments, joy and heartbreak.
As viewers fall head over heels for Emma and Dexter, they may find themselves wanting to know more about leading lady, Ambika. Keep reading for all you need to know about the actress…
Ambika's childhood and acting beginnings
Born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Ambika is the daughter of Indian immigrant parents. Her mother, an accountant, arrived in the UK as a child and her father, a vet, in his 20s.
During an interview with The Guardian, Ambika, 29, revealed that she spent her childhood watching almost exclusively Bollywood movies, but as she got older took an interest in British and US TV, and noticed the lack of roles for women of south Asian heritage on screen.
"When I was a teenager, there wasn't the same discussion we have now about representation and why it matters. I've always had a difficult relationship with my physical appearance and I think a lot of that is being told, specifically or implicitly, that brown women aren't the standard of beauty," she told the publication, adding: "That's quite insidious, [and] gets fed to you by way of not seeing yourself on screen – that is very specific to young women of colour."
After leaving school, Ambika began studying at Durham University, where she graduated with a degree in English Studies. While at uni, Ambika, a "wallflower" and "introvert" found her passion for performing after joining the comedy group, the Durham Revue, and eventually became the club's president in her final year.
Ambika's university graduation was followed by a move to London, where she worked jobs in retail and as a PA while performing standup in the evenings.
She formed a comedy duo, called Megan from HR, with her writing partner Andrew Shires, and the pair would go on to perform shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. After a couple of years, the duo garnered attention and Mod eventually got an agent.
Ambika's big break
Ambika's big break came in 2020 when she landed a role in the BBC's medical comedy-drama, This Is Going to Hurt. In the 2022 series, based on former doctor Adam Kay's memoir, Ambika starred alongside Ben Whishaw as junior doctor Shruti Acharya working on a hectic labour ward.
Following her breakout role, Ambika went on to appear in series two of Sky Atlantic's I Hate Suzie.
It didn't take long before Netflix came calling with the lead role of Emma in One Day.
At a recent press event ahead of the show's release, Ambika, who is a fan of the novel, spoke about remaining loyal to the source material.
"We have been incredibly faithful to the book, that was our intention going into it," she told HELLO! and other press. "Wherever I was lost or having a scene that I wasn't about or didn't know how to tackle, I'd always go back to the book. Nicole (Taylor, executive producer and writer) and the team of writers have done such a great job of lifting it from the page and taking all those internal monologues and context and making it into this three-dimensional world and it just feels so real and nostalgic."
One Day is available to stream on Netflix.