Sawalha was born in Wandsworth, London, on 9 September 1968, and is the daughter of Roberta Lane and actor Nadim Sawalha.[1][3] Her father was born in Madaba, Jordan.[4] She was named after her paternal grandmother, a businesswoman who had received an award from Queen Noor for enterprise. She is of Jordanian, English and French Huguenot ancestry.[5]
Sawalha made her debut in the 1982 BBC miniseries Fame Is the Spur,[7] and in 1988 played a small role in Inspector Morse,[8] on the episode "Last Seen Wearing". She first gained attention for her starring role in the Bafta award-winning ITV teenage comedy-drama Press Gang, which ran from 1989 to 1993.[8]
In 1992, she appeared in episode "Parade" (S2 E4) of Bottom as Veronica Head, a beautiful young barmaid at the Lamb and Flag, whom Richie tries to woo by boasting of his false adventures in the Falklands.
From 2000 to 2001, she voiced Georgina and provided Kid's vocal effects in the HIT Entertainment/Grand Slamm Children's Films/CBBC TV series Sheeep. She also played "Dawn the Wise Man" in The Flint Street Nativity on Christmas Eve. In 2000, she appeared as Janet, the Australian barmaid in the first series of the British sitcom Time Gentlemen Please. She also played the much put-upon PA to "Zak" in Argos TV adverts during 2002–2004, along with Richard E. Grant.[9]
In 2006, she participated in the third series of the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?[10] tracing her family's roots, which are Jordanian Bedouin on her father's side and French Huguenot on her mother's. She also appeared in the pilot of BBC 1's A Taste of my Life presented by Nigel Slater.[11]
In July 2020, she made a statement revealing Aardman Animations intended to recast her character of Ginger in the upcoming sequel to Chicken Run, stating that she is now considered to sound too old, and commented "I have officially been plucked, stuffed & roasted". The decision was met with widespread criticism with some finding the decision ageist. She even released video clips online, dubbing over her original voice lines to prove her voice still sounded the same.[1][13][14][15]
In January 2024, Sawalha participated in the fifth series of The Masked Singer as the character "Bubble Tea". She was eliminated and unmasked in the fourth episode.[16][17]
Personal life
On 1 January 2004, tabloid newspapers reported that she had married Alan Davies, with whom she co-starred in the television series Jonathan Creek. Both she and Davies, who avoided discussing their private lives in public, denied this, and took legal action against the reports.[18][19]