Laila Rouass planning 'quiet' 40th birthday

Laila Rouass planning 'quiet' 40th birthday
Laila Rouass planning 'quiet' 40th birthday (Image credit: BBC)

Actress Laila Rouass has revealed that she is hoping for a 'low-key' birthday when she turns 40 later this year. The former Footballers Wives' star, who has joined the cast of Holby City as surgeon Sahira Shah, reaches the milestone age on June 22 but said she is planning to "hide" on that day. "I always do on my birthday, I never celebrate birthdays," she said. Laila added, "I usually switch off my phone. I can't bear it; obviously I'm not a very social person like that. "It's the fuss and the hoo haa, I can't bear it. I've always been like that, it's terrible and I forget everybody else's birthday because I don't make a big deal of mine - it's unimportant." The actress also said that she thought HD television was the "worst invention ever" since it showed up every imperfection. "It shows everything," she admitted. "I've been taught always be nice to the lighting people - they're the people you make friends with straight away so that's what I do." "Of course it's scary because you can see wrinkles."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.