Nadia Sawalha

Early life

Sawalha was raised and still lives in Croydon, south London. She is the daughter of the Jordanian-born British actor Nadim Sawalha and his English wife Roberta Lane. Nadia is the sister of television actress Julia Sawalha and has appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank with her. In 1997, the three starred together in Dearest Daddy... Darling Daughter at the Young Vic Theatre in south London. However, the family pulled out of the performance after hearing of Nadia's husband's death.

Career

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, The Vanishing Man (1996), the BBC Victorian drama Station Jim (2001) and the ITV police drama The Bill. Sawalha has also appeared in the films Clockwise (1986), Slave of Dreams (1995), and the straight-to-video release Caught in the Act (1997).

From 1999 to 2002, Sawalha was a regular panellist on the lunchtime chat show Loose Women. She returned in October 2013 and has appeared during most weeks in the last decade.

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, one series each of Total , TV Mail, Heir Hunters, Perfect Partner and Family Exchange. She was also a co-host on the live documentary City Hospital. She has previously hosted the BBC One show Living in the Sun, about British expats living in Spain, 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 could 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 one series of 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. That year, and on the same network, Sawalha also co-presented with Jeremy Milnes for one series of 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. From the 2012 series, Sawalha was replaced by Irish cook Donal Skehan.

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, in which Sawalha is challenged by celebrity chefs to cook in their favourite holiday restaurants.

From 15 February until 20 August 2010, Sawalha presented a series of the reality programme Instant Restaurant for BBC Two.

In July 2011, Sawalha guest presented the ITV Breakfast programme Lorraine and made a total of 17 appearances on the show as a relief presenter and 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. The same year, Sawalha presented the UKTV Home series Kitchen SOS.

From 27 October to 29 December 2013, Sawalha and Kaye Adams co-hosted a series of Sunday Scoop, a cookery show.

From 7 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.

Sawalha presented her own cookery show, Nadia's Family Feasts, on ITV. She took inspiration from busy households around the world as she searched for new ideas for recipes that would fit into hectic schedules. Each week, she was joined by a guest chef with a passion or expertise in that cuisine. The series lasted for one season and was replaced by John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen.

Sawalha now hosts a podcast with her husband. In How to Stay Married (So Far), they talk about the ups and downs of married life.

YouTube

Mark Adderley

Camera man (Mark)

• Trailer Reviews
• Teaser Trailer Reviews
• Film Reviews
• Coffee Moaning
• Cooking
• ADHD Diary}} Sawalha started a YouTube channel with fellow Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams. They had their own YouTube platform, Instagram account and Facebook page, in which they did weekly vlogs, cooking videos, film and TV programme reviews. They also focused on daily normal family routines as well. This account, however, is now inactive.

Sawalha also launched a Sawalha-Adderley YouTube channel. The Sawalha-Adderleys (Originally Nadia Sawalha and Family) on Monday 25 August 2014, featuring Sawalha with her husband Mark Adderley. Also regularly appearing are Adderley's mother Diane Adderley and Sawalha's sister Dina.

The channel began as a film and TV show review in which Sawalha, Adderley and occasionally their children would review films coming out in the cinema, or a popular TV show on television. However, by the end of 2014, her family decided to make varied content with the first being Vlogmas where the family do a vlog every day in December. This proved to be a hit with their followers. From 2015 onwards, the channel has been releasing at least two videos daily, but their children no longer appear in their content.

In December 2016, the channel launched a subscription service. It had a monthly cost of £1.99 and included their weekly The No-Named Sunday show which features different segments from memes, cooking, newspapers, book reviews, Teddy Talks, and an occasional livestream for members only.

In February 2019, the channel reached 50,000 subscribers. On 4 May 2020, the channel reached 100,000 subscribers and received a "silver play button".

Personal life

Sawalha has suffered from psoriasis, and has used homeopathy rather than conventional treatment. In 2019, Sawalha revealed on Loose Women that she suffers from tinnitus.

On Christmas Day 1997, Sawalha's first husband, Justin Mildwater, ended his life by suicide. They had been married for five years, but had split up a few months before.

On 6 June 2002, she married her second husband, Mark Adderley. The following year, he was caught on the M4 near Chippenham at more than two times over the drink-drive limit. Adderley has been sober following a period of rehabilitation. Both Sawalha and Adderley have discussed his path to sobriety on their YouTube channel. The couple live in Upper Norwood, south London, and have two daughters. Sawalha is an atheist.

On 31 May 2017, Sawalha spoke in an emotional video online about losing her hair at the age of 52. Sawalha said that her curls were fake and she was going through the perimenopause, the start of the menopause. She said that a doctor told her in September 2016 she had the balding gene.

On 25 November 2022, Sawalha announced on Loose Women that she had been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 58.

In the wake of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Sawalha has been an outspoken advocate for Palestine, and a critic of Israel. An Instagram interview she conducted with Lizzie Greenwood, a former Worker's Party candidate at the 2024 general election, was described as "incendiary" by The Jewish Chronicle in December 2024, reporting on comments made by Greenwood. According to the article, Sawalha claimed that the media’s agenda was “Zionist” and that the terrorists were “freedom fighters”.

Filmography

Video games

Theatre credits

Bibliography

• Stuffed Vine Leaves Saved My Life (2010) Doubleday, London.
• Greedy Girl's Diet (2013) Kyle, London.
• Greedy Girl's Diet: Second Helpings! (2013) Kyle Books, London.
• Fabulous Family Food (2014) Macmillan, London.
• Little Black Dress Diet (2016) Kyle Books, London.
• Nadia and Kaye: Disaster Chef (2018) – with Kaye Adams. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London.
• Parent Alert!: How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online (2018) – with Kaye Adams and Will Geddes. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London.
• Honey, I Homeschooled the Kids (2021) – with Mark Adderley. Coronet, London.

References

References

1. (7 January 2023). "CURLY COOKS of CROYDON - Episode 1!! (Let the chaos commence!)".
2. (2017-04-04). "Nadia Sawalha became a homeowner 20 years ago — and bought next door to her parents".
3. {{cite episode. ITV]]
4. "NADIA TOLD: TAKE AS LONG AS YOU NEED; EastEnders star mourns suicide ex.".
5. (10 March 2022). "Where the past and original presenters of Loose Women are now".
6. (4 October 2012). "Skehan is Junior MasterChef UK judge".
7. "Eating in the Sun". [[BBC One]].
8. "BBC Two Instant Restaurant". [[BBC Two]].
9. "Sunday presenters: Nadia Sawalha". [[ITV (TV network).
10. "Nadia Sawalha". Celebrity Big Brother.
11. (15 March 2019). "John Torode and Lisa Faulkner share exciting news".
12. "The Sawalha-Adderleys - Family, Food, Films & Fun - YouTube".
13. (24 January 2020). "Welcome to our Membership Area!! Join and Become a FAMILY GUEST!!". The Sawalha-Adderleys - Family, Food, Films & Fun.
14. (23 February 2019). "Weekend Vlog #8 - Nadia TALKS About DRINKING Again, Hitting 50000 SUBS & Mark Simply Won't SHUT UP". The Sawalha-Adderleys - Family, Food, Films & Fun.
15. Dana Ullman, ''The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy'', page 147 (California: [[North Atlantic Books]], 2007). {{ISBN. 978-1-55643-671-0
16. "TV Nadia in tears as she tells of hubby's suicide.". [[The Free Dictionary.
17. "How could you do this, Nadia; Suicide husband's sister hits out at EastEnder Annie for her 'callous' affair with star.". [[The Free Dictionary.
18. "Priest in 'stop the suicides' plea over EastEnder Nadia's husband.". Free Online Library.
19. "Hanged on Christmas Day; Heartbroken dad says: My son Justin died a lonely man.". [[The Free Dictionary.
20. "'I feel suicidal ...I'm losing the wife I adore' Tragic Last Words of Eastender Nadia's Husband Before He Was Found Hanged.". [[The Free Dictionary.
21. (18 April 2003). "Soap star's husband in drink drive shame".
22. (2003-04-18). "Soap star's husband in drink drive shame".
23. (2025-01-15). "Nadia Sawalha On Homeschooling: Say To Your Kids, “I’m Not A Teacher And I Don’t Know The Answer To This Either – Let’s Find Out”".
24. (17 April 2015). "Should The Niqab Be Allowed In Court? - Loose Women". [[Loose Women]].
25. (31 May 2017). "Loose Women's Nadia on losing her hair". [[BBC News]].
26. (24 November 2022). "Nadia Sawalha reveals she has been diagnosed with ADHD in late 50s". [[The Guardian]].
27. Delaney, Zoe. (2024-10-18). "'I don't fear TV blacklist, I need to speak out for my dad,' says Nadia Sawalha".
28. Prinsley, Jane. (19 December 2024). "Loose Women star platforms conspiracy theories about media's 'Zionist' agenda".