Kaneez Paracha

Upon the cast announcements for Ackley Bridge, Kaneez was billed as a "force of nature" who is full of personality and opinions.^[1] It was stated that as part of her backstory, she arrived in England at the age of 16 and became a prominent voice in the community, raising her family almost single-handedly while her husband Iqbal is away from home.^[1] Actress Sarker added that Kaneez's experiences with moving to England as a teenager has made her an example of self-learning and independence due to "finding her feet with the language and life skills".^[2] Sarker added that Kaneez is a woman she had never seen on television before due to being full of personality and opinions. She also liked that Kaneez is shown to be a good mother with a sense of humour while also having a protective streak and strictness.^[3] She described her character as a feisty woman who wears her heart on her sleeve who is also "a woman of substance, very vocal and passionate about caring for her children and her family [and] doesn’t really hold back on telling people what she thinks".^[4] She felt that Kaneez has a funny personality in a way Pakistani women are not shown to have in media. She also praised the series itself for its "three-dimensional portrayal" of Pakistani women, specifically praising the stories that her character receives for being "all about this woman being a force to be reckoned with".^[5] Prior to appearing in Ackley Bridge, Sarker starred in the BBC medical drama Casualty as Zoe Hanna for nine years. Following her exit from Casualty, she explained that she was looking for something different and described the role of Kaneez as "just the tonic".^[5] Part of this was attributed to Kaneez looking and sounding nothing like Sarker in real life, an aspect of the role that she liked.^[5]

On accepting the role of Kaneez, Sarker stated that it was rare for her to find a character that had been written as a three-dimensional Asian woman, and even rarer for her to be a northern Asian woman. Sarker noted how Kaneez displays westernised aspects side by side with her Islamic life and "blends both humour and truth in an authentic way", something she believes is not represented commonly in media.^[2] One of her motivations for accepting the role was wanting to represent single Muslim mothers, who she believed deserved a voice on television. Sarker enjoyed that the role of Kaneez is not glamour driven, since it means she is able to focus on the character, and "put vanity aside".^[4] On the styling of Kaneez, Sarker said that she wanted to be dressed in Pakistani clothes, commenting: "I don’t think there are many people in places like Cambridge who will have bumped into many women like Kaneez, so it is great that we are bringing them into their living rooms."^[4] Sarker also pushed for her character to speak with a northern Pakistani accent and to live a working-class life, since her previous roles were completely different. As Sarker does not speak Punjabi in real life while Kaneez does, Sarker had to learn the language for the role. She found it to be difficult but gave it her "best shot".^[4] Sarker recalled that while filming for Ackley Bridge, co-stars would tell her that she sounds just like their aunties and that her lines reminded them of their own mothers, which made her feel like she was "on the right lines".^[4] Sarker also had a voice coach to help her with Kaneez's accent, since during scenes, her accent can "naturally wander since different words have different emphasis".^[2] When asked about Kaneez's "colourful version of English", Sarker complimented the writers for writing the majority of Kaneez's lines, but revealed that a lot of Kaneez's comedic dialogue was invented by herself.^[2] Sarker calls the phrases 'Kaneezisms'. She referenced a joke she made about the Spice Girls in the first series that caused the people on set to laugh, therefore it was implemented into the script, since they knew it would appeal to viewers.^[2]

Sarker described the second series of Ackley Bridge as a liberating series for Kaneez, stating that her split from her husband contributed to Kaneez having "found her wings" wanting to "fly a little bit".^[6] She felt that Kaneez had become open to life's possibilities and that the first of these is learning to drive. Sarker deems herself a good driver in real life and found it difficult to play a bad driver. She joked that she would never get into a car with Kaneez, but that despite being bad, Kaneez "thinks she knows it all and should be on Top Gear".^[6] She also noted that the importance of the relationship she has with her children is reflected in the series.^[2] In the fourth series, Sarker affirmed that Kaneez is "still a force to be reckoned with".^[7] Sarker also took on the role of associate producer for the series. Kaneez is promoted to a school counsellor, which Sarker enjoyed playing. Due to a cast overhaul in the fourth series, Sarker was glad to have stayed on the show and felt that Kaneez had become a "foundation character", but confirmed that she would still have her own storylines.^[7] Kaneez's relationship with Rashid is further explored in the series when his mother Zainab arrives, who Sarker described as the "mother-in-law from hell".^[7] The series also sees Kaneez's relationship with nephew Tahir explored due to the exit of Nasreen in the third series.^[7]

Shout Out UK described Kaneez as a "matriarch", stating that they were glad to continue seeing her after three series.^[8] Viewers have a positive opinion of Kaneez's humor, with her being described as an "icon" and a "queen of comedy".^[9] Dan Seddon of Digital Spy wrote that her scenes have "comic ingenuity", that himself and viewers are "blown away by Kaneez's knee-slapping antics" and joked that a statue of her should be placed at the fictional school.^[9] Following the storyline which saw Kaneez's inhibitions about dating Rashid, viewers praised both the series and the character for Kaneez's more serious scenes, with one describing her as "the feminist icon we need".^[10] Rianne Houghton of Digital Spy described the story as a "genuinely moving arc" and praised the character's development, adding that her kiss with Rashid was "one of the most heartwarming onscreen kisses we've seen".^[10] At the 2019 Asian Media Awards, Kaneez won the award for Best TV Character.^[11] Then at the 2021 TV Choice Awards, Sarker was nominated for Best Actress.^[12]