Manjinder Virk
Actor / Writer
Agent
Associate Agent
Biography
Photographer credit: Charlie Gray
Manjinder was selected as part of the BAFTA Elevate 2019/2020 programme. BAFTA Elevate is designed to support people from underrepresented groups in our industries progressing in their careers, and to help tackle the issue of diversity in our industries as a whole.
http://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/elevate/actors-2019#manjinder-virk
Manjinder is probably best known for playing the lead in Clio Barnard’s genre-defying film THE ARBOR and Peter Kosminsky’s BRITZ (C4). In the past year, Manjinder has appeared in Britbox’s THE BEAST MUST DIE, and completed filming on Series 2 of DEVILS for Sky opposite Patrick Dempsey. She will soon star in a supporting role across all episodes of Jed Mercurio’s TRIGGER POINT for ITV, alongside Vicky McClure.
She is also an accomplished writer and director.
Manjinder was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2008. Since then, she has gone on to be nominated and win many awards for her excellence in acting, including:
– Nominated for Best Actress and Best New comer at BIFAS 2010
– Nominated for Best Newcomer at London Film Festival 2011
– Nominated for Asian Woman of Achievement in 2018
– Won best actress at The Eastern Eye Awards in 2017
– Short film OUT OF DARKNESS – winner of Best Film and Best Drama at Aesthetica Film festival 2013 and Still/Moving Film Festival 2014.
– Short film WITH LOVE FROM CALAIS short listed for The Satyajit Ray film festival award 2017
Credits
Television
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIRDEE | Mandip Virdee | Mark Tonderai | BBC |
| SHETLAND | Farida Sadat | Various | ITV |
| TRIGGER POINT | DI Samira Desai | Gilles Bannier | HTM Television/ITV |
| DEVILS S2 | Agnes Sharma | Nick Hurran & Jan Michellini | Lux Vide & Sky Italia |
| THE BEAST MUST DIE | C.I. Liz Jerwood | Dome Karukoski | Britbox |
| TIN STAR | Divya Sharma | Alice Troughton | Kudos / Sky Atlantic |
| MOVING ON | Alice | Claire Tailyour | BBC |
| BREEDERS | Dr Webb | Chris Addison | Avalon/BBC |
| SICK OF IT | Mrs Sharma | Richard Yee | Me & You Productions/Sky |
| TRUST ME | Dr Parveen Shankar | John Alexander | Red Productions/BBC |
| BAD MOVE Series 1 & 2 | Meena | Martin Dennis | Open Mike/ITV |
| MIDSOMER MURDERS Series 18 & 19 | Kam Karrimore | Various | ITV |
| ORDINARY LIES | Marianne | John Fay | BBC |
| BRILLIANTMAN! | Jogger | John Henderson | What Larks! Productions |
| CALL THE MIDWIFE | Ameera Khatun | Dominic Leclerc | BBC |
| THE THICK OF IT SERIES 4 | Journalist | Armando Iannucci | BBC |
| HUNTED | Simran Baines | Various | Kudos/BBC/HBO |
| MONROE | Dr Sally Fortune | Paul McGuigan/David Moore | Mammoth Screen Ltd |
| SKINS SER IV | Doctor Berg | Neil Biswas | Company Productions Ltd |
| RUNAWAY | PC Yasmine Brinkley | Paul Wilmshurst | BBC |
| AT NIGHT PILOT | Nurse Sandra | Dan Hine | Silver River |
| BRITZ | Nasima | Peter Kosminsky | Channel 4/Mentorn |
| PLUS ONE - PILOT | News Reporter | Simon Delaney | Kudos/Channel 4 |
| BRADFORD RIOTS | Shazia | Neil Biswas | Channel 4/Oxford Film & TV |
| GHOST SQUAD | PC Shireen | Richard Laxton | Channel 4 |
| CHILD OF MINE | WPC | Jamie Payne | Kudos/ITV |
| THE BILL | Khadija | Martin Hutchings/Brett Fallis | Thames Television |
| SWISS TONI | Jenny | Dominic Brigstocke | Tiger Aspect/BBC3 |
| DOCTORS | Laila Khalid | Christiana Ebohan | BBC Television |
| GREEN WING | Nurse | Dominic Brigstocke | Talk Back |
| TRIAL BY JURY | Yasmin Khan | Margaret Renn | BBC Television |
Radio
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAULT LINES | BBC | ||
| THE DARK TOWER | Sylvie | Robin Brooks | BBC Radio 3 |
| MEMSAHIB EMMA | Emma | Tracey Neale | BBC Radio 4 |
| FROM FACT TO FICTION (SERIES 18): KATY IS A HAPPY CHILD | Maya | Tracey Neale | BBC Radio 4 |
| THE MAN WHO WORE SANITARY PADS | Neeta | Sarah Bradshaw | BBC Radio 4 |
| BABY POWDER AND PERFUME | Rani | Helen Perry | BBC Radio 4 |
| GONE | Cabdriver's Girlfriend | Debbie Tucker Green | BBC Radio 3 |
| HOW NOW TV | Parminder | Paul Watson | BBC |
| LONDON CALLING: BLITZKRIEG BOP | Shammi | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 4 |
| RUDOLPHO'S ZEST | Sita | Tracey Neale | BBC Radio 3 |
| LONDON EUROPE | Naz | Graham Frost | BBC Radio 4 |
| TONIGHT I WRITE | Maya Kang | Claire Grove | BBC Radio 4 |
| RAMAYANA | Sita | Claire Grove | BBC Radio 4 |
Stage
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| A KIND OF PEOPLE | Anjum | Michael Buffong | Royal Court Theatre |
| DANCE NATION | Connie | Bijan Sheibani | Almeida Theatre |
| BODIES | Doctor (Voice) | Jude Christian | Royal Court Theatre |
| REDCROSSE | Reader | Luke Kernaghan | RSC/Coventry Cathedral |
| I CALL MY BROTHERS | Valeria | Farnaz Arbabi | Arcola Theatre |
| FREE OUTGOING | Kokila/Usha | Indhu Rubasingham | Royal Court Theatre |
| SHABNAM | Shabnam | Nadia Fall | Lyric Hammersmith/Naach |
| AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE | Bobby | One Woman Show | Hammersmith Lyric Theatre |
| BILL SHAKESPEARE'S ITALIAN JOB | Juliet | Malachi Bogdanov | Gilded Balloon |
| COME OUT ELI | Various Roles | Alecky Blythe | Recorded Delivery |
| UNSUITABLE GIRLS | Chumpa Chumelli | Kully Thiarai | Hammersmith Lyric/PILOT |
| WORKERS WRITES | Jessie/Rina Kapoor | Rufus Norris | Royal Court |
| WINTERSUN | Aisha Khan | Noel Greig | Leicester Haymarket Theatre |
| A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM | Hermia | Richard Hayhow | Belgrade Theatre |
| SLEEPING BEAUTY | Princess Talia | Jonathon Petherbridge | London Bubble Theatre |
| THE MILLENNIUM MYSTERIES | Various Roles | Pawel Skotak | Belgrade Theatre/Teatro Biuro |
Film
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| OUT OF DARKNESS (Short) | Brown Female | Manjinder Virk | Mango Films |
| WITH LOVE FROM CALAIS (Short) | Gurjeet | Manjinder Virk | Mango Films |
| KALEIDOSCOPE | Officer Torrington | Rupert Jones | Stigma Films |
| THE SENSE OF AN ENDING | Dr. Gurmeet Kaur MD | Ritesh Batra | BBC Films |
| HISTORY'S FUTURE | Phoebe | Fiona Tan | Family Affair Films |
| THE ARBOR | Lorraine | Clio Barnard | Arbor Films Ltd |
| THE BLUE TOWER | Asha | Smita Bhide | Monkey in Heaven |
| READY WHEN YOU ARE MR MCGILL | Sue | Paul Seed | Working Title |
Biography
Alongside her acting, Manjinder has continually developed her own writing and directing work. Manjinder’s first commission was her play GLOW for Theatre Centre, about a female Asian boxer. Since then, Manjinder has worked on projects for both radio and screen as well as theatre. Manjinder’s short film OUT OF DARKNESS starring Riz Ahmed and Tom Hiddleston, which she both wrote and directed, premiered at BFI Film Festival and won Best Film and Best Drama at Aesthetica Film Festival. Manjinder is now developing her first feature film, THINGS WE NEVER SAID, with Creative England and the BFI as well as participating in this year’s BAFTA Elevate programme.
Credits
Radio
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
TONIGHT I WRITE 2003 |
BBC Radio 4 |
As Writer. Director & Producer Claire Grove. |
Short Films
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
THE TEENAGE YEARS 2025 |
Herbert Art Gallery |
Director and Producer for short documentary |
|
THE LIVING ROOM 2025 |
Herbert Art Gallery |
Writer and Director. |
|
DEKHO 2024 |
As Writer and Director. |
|
|
THINGS WE NEVER SAID 2022 |
As Writer and Director. Premiered at Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals, Aesthetica film festival, London Short film festival and LA shorts. |
|
|
23 DAYS 2020 |
As Writer, Director & Producer. |
|
|
WITH LOVE FROM CALAIS 2017 |
As Writer, Director & Producer. *Nominated for Satyajit Ray Film Festival |
|
|
OUT OF DARKNESS 2013 |
As Writer, Director & Producer. Starring Riz Ahmed and Tom Hiddleston. |
|
|
FORGIVE 2008 |
Screen Midlands |
As Writer & Director. Starring Sacha Dhawan and Abdi Ghouhad. |
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
EMMERDALE 2024 – 2025 |
ITV Studios |
Director – 7 episodes |
|
BREEDERS S4 WRITERS ROOM 2023 |
Sky/ Avalon |
As Writer |
|
JAMILLAH AND ALADDIN 2015 |
CBBC/Kindle |
Developed series and wrote one episode; FISH SOUP. |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
THE ROOM 2025 |
Shortlist for The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2026 |
|
|
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE 2005 |
Lyric Hammersmith |
As Writer, Director & Actor. One woman show which went on to tour nationally after its run at Lyric Hammersmith. |
|
GLOW 2003 |
Theatre Center |
As Writer. Director Dawn Walton. Went on to tour nationally after its run at Theatre Center. |
