The 58 year-old actor said they are “free to say it out loud”
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY ITVX
Shobna Gulati, famous for starring in Coronation Street, dinnerladies and Loose Women, has come out as non-binary. The actor said they didn’t have the terminology to describe their gender when growing up but has always felt more like “a person” than a gender.
Shobna came out publicly on How To Be 60, a podcast hosted by their former co-panelist Kaye Adams. “I’ve become more happy describing myself as a person. What do people call it now? Non-binary. So, I suppose that’s who I am.”
“I’ve never had a word for it,” the actor, who uses she/they pronouns. “But I’ve learnt from our younger generation what that might look like in terms of a word, because I know what it feels like in terms of being me.” They added that their family has always understood and accepted them.
Reflecting on how they came to the realisation, Shobna said that they met a sound engineer who described themself as non-binary and felt the word matched how they feel. “They said that they saw themselves as a person and that the gender – the he or the she – wasn’t important to who they are. And I thought, ‘That’s all I’ve ever thought.’”
As well as coming out as non-binary, Shobna added that they are currently in a relationship, but would date any gender if they were single.
Shobna is best known for playing Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street, appearing on the ITV show between 2011 and 2013. Shobna has also been in a number of other British TV staples, including Doctor Who, Vera, Doctors and dinnerladies.
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