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Dr. Nina Bulsara is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera Doctors, portrayed by Wendi Peters. Details surrounding her casting and Nina's characterisation were announced in November 2022 on Morning Live.

Development

Casting and characterisation

Wendi Peters began filming for Doctors in October 2022 and announced her casting on the BBC topical series Morning Live on 2 November 2022. Prior to being cast as Nina, Peters portrayed Nicky Connelly in a 2021 episode of Doctors. Doctors has a rule where guest stars typically cannot return until a minimum of three years had passed, meaning her casting as Nina was a rare example. To promote her casting on Doctors, Peters appeared on the radio show Here She Is. The radio show host asked her if there was any connection between the two roles, to which she clarified that Nina is a new and unconnected character.

On Peters' casting, executive producer Mike Hobson said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Wendi to the Doctors cast. She is a familiar face every soap fan will recognise and we know she will be brilliant in this role." Peters' first episode as Nina was set to air on 8 February 2023 where the character meets with Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh) at a medical conference. In the episode, the characters get caught up in an explosion at the hotel hosting the conference. However, due to the episode being set for transmission at a similar time to the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, the BBC decided to pull the episode from television schedules hours before transmission. The episode eventually aired on 20 February 2023. The trauma of the explosion acts as bonding for Nina and Zara and the two become set on introducing Nina as a partner at the Mill Health Centre.

Peters, who rose to prominence for portraying Cilla Battersby-Brown on Coronation Street, said that Nina is a completely different type of character to Cilla. Her backstory involves growing up as the daughter of two solicitors. Nina then went on to marry a consultant who died from a stroke. Peters described Nina as a headstrong woman who "knows what she wants" and hoped to see Nina get it. Hobson billed Nina as "a feisty busybody who wants to be respected" and hinted that she will "ruffle a few feathers at the Mill."

Introduction of son

On Here She Is, Peters confirmed that Nina's surname is derived from her dead husband, who was Indian. She also revealed that the pair have a son together who would be arriving in the serial a few weeks after Nina's debut. Once Zara persuades fellow partner Daniel Granger (Matthew Chambers) to allow Nina to become a partner, she states that she wants her son, Dr. Suni Bulsara (Rahul Arya), to be hired at the Mill. Nina's BBC profile described her as a "headstrong woman who knows what she wants", while Suni's noted his close relationship with Nina and called him a "mummy's boy".

Nina is "adamant" about Suni being hired. She is successful, but the Metro's Chris Hallam noted how Suni makes a bad first impression on almost everybody at the Mill.

A few weeks into his tenure, Suni was the focus of a standalone episode that flashed back to see his angry reaction to Nina getting him a job at the Mill without telling him.

Reception

Helen Daly of the Radio Times described Nina as "a chatterbox who has an opinion on everything and everyone" and opined that while she can be overbearing for her fellow colleagues, she is "a ray of light and will always find the positive in any difficult situation". Daly wrote that Nina would be a good addition to the cast, as well as Metro's Calli Kitson being intrigued by the character. Peters' co-star Elisabeth Dermot Walsh posted online that she was excited for viewers to meet the "charming, dynamic and maddening character". Also writing for the Metro, Chris Hallam described Nina as "bossy, interfering and annoying".

References

1. Seddon, Dan (2 November 2022). "Former Coronation Street star Wendi Peters lands new soap role". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
2. Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Ex-Corrie star Wendi Peters (aka Cilla) guest stars". What to Watch. (Future plc). Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
3. "Chicken Soap for the Soul with Elisabeth Dermot Walsh and Special Guest Lorna Laidlaw (Mrs Tembe)". Chicken Soap for the Soul. Spotify. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
4. ^ Timmy Ward (9 November 2022). "Doctors exclusive" (Podcast). Hear She Is. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
5. ^ Daly, Helen (4 November 2022). "Former Coronation Street star Wendi Peters joins Doctors cast". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
6. Sayce, Rebecca (8 February 2023). "Doctors pulled from BBC One schedule after Turkey and Syria earthquake". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
7. "Hell is Empty". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
8. ^ Kitson, Calli (2 November 2022). "Coronation Street star Wendi Peters joins Doctors as 'maddening' new character". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
9. Morning Live (2 November 2022). ""She knows what she wants and hopefully she'll get it!". 💉 Former #Corrie star @WendiPeters joined us for an exclusive chat to tell us about her @BBCDoctors character and what we can expect from her storylines 🩺" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Dr Nina Bulsara wants to join The Mill!". What to Watch. (Future plc). Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
11. "Nina Bulsara". BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
12. "Suni Bulsara". BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
13. "Doctors". TV Times. 25 February – 3 March 2023. p. 27. Meanwhile, Nina resigns from the board she works for, as Zara convinces Daniel that she's the right partner for them. But the couple are thrown when Nina reveals she wants her GP son Suni to join the team. Nina's adamant he'd be the perfect addition, and Daniel fears it will compromise their deal if he and Zara reject him. Can the trio come up with an arrangement that suits everyone?
14. Hallam, Chris. "Doctors spoilers: Nina introduces a new member of staff – her son". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
15. Timblick, Simon. "Doctors spoilers: Suni Bulsara helps a troubled footballer". What to Watch. (Future plc). Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
16. Hallam, Chris (29 March 2023). "EastEnders star Nina Wadia arrives as Binita in Doctors". Metro. (DMG Media). Retrieved 6 April 2023.

External links

• Nina Bulsara at BBC Online

Category:Doctors (2000 TV series) characters Category:Female characters in television Category:Fictional British medical doctors Category:Fictional female doctors Category:Fictional physicians in soap operas Category:Television characters introduced in 2023