Laila Rouass Laila Rouass Laila Abdesselam Rouass (born 22 June 1971) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Amber Gates in "Footballers' Wives" (2004–2006) and Sahira Shah in "Holby City" (2011–12). She has also starred in "Primeval" and "Spooks" and been a contestant on "Strictly Come Dancing", in which she finished fourth. Rouass was born in Stepney, London to a Moroccan father and an Indian mother. Rouass worked as a VJ on Channel V in India in the 1990s. While on Channel V, she appeared in a music video for the band Colour Blind, directed by the
Laila Rouass for the film. She played Maya Lahan, a regular character introduced in the ninth series of BBC One drama "Spooks" which broadcast from September 2010. She guest starred as the evil Colonel Karim in "The Sarah Jane Adventures" in October 2010. Rouass then joined the cast of the BBC medical drama "Holby City", appearing from February 2011 as registrar Sahira Shah. She left "Holby City" on 17 April 2012, after just 14 months on the show, to take a break to spend time with her family. The door has been left open for her to return. She is also currently