First Leila Khan stole our hearts as the delightful Sahar in Heartstopper, then she co-starred in the BBC children’s series Crookhaven. Then just last week came Adultery, an ITV drama in which she co-stars with Dominic Cooper, Romola Garai and Johnny Sanpher. It centres on a teen couple whose married parents become attracted to one another – and the subsequent fallout.
At just 21, Khan – a self-described “working class lass from Essex” – is already making an impact on our screens. “Without defining myself with specifics I will say I’m a creative since birth which is currently manifesting through my love of acting,” she tells Broadsheet. “As we all are, I’m still on the journey of finding myself and I’m having a blast on the way.”
One of Khan’s other loves? Reading – so Broadsheet quizzed the London-based actor on her favourite bookshops in the capital, what she’s reading right now and what’s next on her to-read list.
Hi Leila! What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
I read so often, so what even is lately? I’m still recovering from The Book Thief a few months ago. That was a stinger. But more recently I read Percival Everett’s James and then The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so you can imagine the torture I’m going through at the minute.
What’s your absolute favourite bookshop in London?
I do have to say I’m a sucker for a Waterstones and I’m so smug that the biggest one in Europe is in Piccadilly. I also love going to the National Theatre for the bookshop there. It feels so magical to me to have two of my greatest loves under one roof: books and theatre. It’s also such a privilege to see my friends’ names and faces on the play texts too, so I suppose that’s another reason why it’s up there with my favourites.
Is there an under-the-radar bookshop you’d like to shout out?
Now, I’m not sure if it’s under the radar – I literally live under a rock and my algorithm is funny animal videos, so I’m always playing catch up with the latest trends … But Daunt Books in Marylebone is so beautiful. I feel transported to another time when I’m there; it feels so old school.
What are you reading now?
Tobie [Donovan, Heartstopper] and I are currently reading Circe together. I’m struggling to pace myself because I tend to soar through books, but for him I’m taking it easy. [Madeline] Miller is so poetic in her writing, it’s a dream to read.
You should see the stack of books I’ve yet to read and I can’t stop buying more. I’ve been dying to tackle The Count of Monte Cristo but it’s kinda daunting at the moment, I’m building myself up for it.
What’s a book that screams “London” to you?
That’s such a tough question because I grew up reading and studying Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dickens and more recently The Picture of Dorian Gray. Growing up I loved poetry and William Blake’s London comes to mind, too. From the age of six I can recall watching Oliver on repeat and that was my first idea of what London was all about. In answer to your question, cobbled streets, perseverance, the duality of man and a lot of singing children springs to mind. I suppose this may all create quite a bleak image, but I associate London with hope and resilience – these geniuses are the inspiration for thousands of British poets and authors now and I do believe there’s something to learn in all of those works.
What’s your next read?
The Count of Monte Cristo will be tackled in due course. I’m also due to finish the Fourth Wing series, I’m on the third one and waiting patiently for the next. I’m really intrigued by film and TV adaptations from literature and I’m really excited to see what they do with the Fourth Wing series, they’ve got an awesome creative team behind them from what I’ve seen and I’ve no doubt they’ll do the fans justice! With that being said, I’ve got Yesteryear glaring at me from my bookshelf waiting to be picked up. I’ve been avoiding picking it up simply because it’s in hardback (don’t judge me) but I had to have it the moment it was released.
Adultery is on ITVX now.
