27 October 2023 , 17:00
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Emmerdale's Leyla Harding is currently dealing with plenty of drama in her personal life, primarily concerning her increasing suspicions of Jacob Gallagher's (Joe-Warren Plant) secret new girlfriend. Viewers will of course recall Jacob's recent declaration of love to Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins), with things having since gotten pretty steamy between the age-gap pair.
It isn't yet clear how exactly protective mum Leyla will react when she finds out who Jacob's mystery woman is, especially given that Leyla is of course no great fan of Victoria, who she blames for giving Jacob an extreme allergic reaction at a recent food sampling event. As Leyla turns detective, we take a look at the actor who plays her, Roxy Shahidi, - from her life behind the scenes, marriage to a famous husband, to her little-known real name.
Roxy is happily married to a Line of Duty star (Instagram/ @roxyshahidi)
Roxy and Arsher felt a connection from the very start (BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill)Happy marriage to TV star husband
Roxy is happily married to fellow actor Arsher Ali, who played PC Hard Bains in the third series of critically acclaimed police drama Line of Duty. The pair first locked eyes while appearing in a London play together in 2007, and things moved very quickly. Indeed, according to Roxy, Arsher was so smitten from the get-go, that he proposed within just three weeks of knowing each other.
During an interview with the Mirror in October 2014, Roxy recalled: "He just looked me in the eye at a cast party and said, 'Will you marry me?' I didn't answer and he said, 'You will be my wife' and that was it. I didn't quite know what to make of it because I didn't know him that well. I knew that he liked me but we hadn't really said anything. We hadn't even kissed!"
The Nottingham-based couple tied the knot in 2010, in a ceremony attended by family and friends, and, in 2018, they welcomed their daughter to the world. Speaking with Speaking with OK! magazine in 2017, a then-pregnant Roxy revealed: "We had only been trying for a few weeks and I was sure it was going to take us much longer! It took a few weeks before I got my head around it but, once I did, I was filled with joy."
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
Real name
Like many actors, the name Roxy goes by in her line of work isn't the one she was born with. Manchester-born Roxy's full name is Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi, which many surprise some fans who know her best as Roxy Shahidi.