20-03-2025
Coronation Street star comes out as non binary and shares new relationship
Coronation Street's Shobna Gulati has come forward to announce that they now identify as non-binary.
The actor, known for their role as Sunita Alahan in the ITV soap and also for their iconic role in comedy Dinnerladies, disclosed that it was only recently that they discovered a term that encapsulated the feelings they've had throughout their life.
"Non-binary" describes a gender identity that falls outside of the traditional male/female binary, encompassing individuals who identify as both, neither, or somewhere in between.
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In conversation with Kaye Adams on her How to be 60 podcast, Shobna, 58, said: '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."
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The star, who now uses the preferred pronouns 'she/they' on social media platforms, went on to say: 'I've never had a word for it, 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.
"All the way through my life I've never had the words for that and I've never managed to explain that and I suppose my immediate family have not really thought about it.
"They've just thought: 'Shobna is either extremely feminine or extremely masculine.'
"Because I was just accepted as a person who fell out of the tree and equally the person who put on all this makeup and did a dance."
Shobna shared that it was during a chat with a non-binary sound engineer on a job that they came to understand their own identity.
"The sound person said to me that they were non-binary and I said: 'what is that?' So, then they explained and I thought – 'well, I feel like that, but I didn't ever have that vocabulary."
Shobna added: "And now, I feel liberated to voice it out loud.
"I believe people around me have accepted my identity for a long time without needing any explanation, but I suppose when I'm asked now, I'll openly say it."
Shobna tied the knot with architect Anshu Srivastava in a Hindu ceremony in 1990 when they were both 23, but the couple parted ways four years later.
A year after their split, Shobna welcomed a son Akshay, who is now 30.
The actress was also romantically involved with Emmerdale actor Gary Turner for four years from 1999 to 2003 during their 12-year stint on Coronation Street, sharing on the podcast: "I did have relationships, but they were very public.
"It was unfortunate for me, because I felt that I didn't get enough time to nurture a relationship, expand my family, and maintain a private life, because it was so exposed and lacked privacy."
Shobna is currently in a relationship, revealing to Kaye Adams: "I think I've loved this person all my life."
When asked if they would consider dating all genders, the star added: "That is also something I'm exploring – what that signifies to me.
"So yes, I would absolutely be open to a relationship with a person, regardless of their gender."
