Kaneez Paracha is a fictional character from the Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge, portrayed by Sunetra Sarker.
Kaneez is the mother of protagonist Nasreen (Amy-Leigh Hickman), as well as Razia (Nazmeen Kauser) and Saleem (Esa Ashraf/Yaseen Khan).
Kaneez's storylines in the series have included ending her arranged marriage with her husband Iqbal (Narinder Samra), pursuing a relationship with science teacher Rashid Hyatt (Tony Jayawardena) and becoming a student support officer.
She pushed for Kaneez to have a mixture of northern and Pakistani accents and to be a working-class character, since it differed from the roles she had played previously.
Missy finds out what she has done and advises her to delete the profile since Nasreen is developing feelings for the woman she believes is real.
Mandy reveals to the staff that she has been offered the opportunity to start a school in Nepal, which upsets Kaneez due to their close friendship.
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".
[5] Prior to appearing in Ackley Bridge, Sarker starred in the BBC medical drama Casualty as Zoe Hanna for nine years.
[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] 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.
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.
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".
[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.