Yorkshire actress to join Netflix drama just weeks after sitting school exams

Cleckheaton's Iyla Sundarsingh McKaig, aged 18, has appeared on Emmerdale as a series regular in series seven of CBBC’s Jamie Johnson.

Now she is confirmed in the casting for Netflix and Warner Brothers TV's new drama series, Unaccustomed Earth, as a series regular.

She will play the role of Hema in the series which is inspired by the Jhumpa Lahiri short story collection of the same name, about a tight-knit Indian American community.

The drama is written by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Ritesh Batra, with executive producer John Wells.

Speaking of her pride at representing the region as she joins the cast, she said: "Yorkshire actors are more than just the place they come from.

"There's real talent if you look at actors like Dominic West, Jodie Whittaker, Sean Bean in films and shows like Phantom Menace, The Crown, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who.

"We have so much more to offer to global productions, and it's so nice to see that really being recognised now," she added.

Iyla, of mixed Indian-British heritage, is represented by Shipley-based Articulate Agency, joining a vanguard of its young northern actors making a name for themselves in TV and film.

She has done a string of TV shows in the UK, with her last cast role in the Netflix-hit Toxic Town.

Stacey Burrows, founder of Articulate Agency, said: “Iyla’s first Articulate role was a few episodes of Emmerdale when she first started with us.

"She started acting at the age of just four, and is a long-standing student in the Articulate Drama School.

"I’ve worked with some incredible young talent," she added. "Iyla is one to watch. She will go far. We’re so proud of her as she moves to New York for such an exciting Netflix project.”

Iyla is the latest in a wave of young actors from the agency to break barriers in the industry.

The team has young talent on its books starring on all major TV networks, it said, Netflix, Sky, ITV, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO, and the BBC.