Shobna Gulati 'ready for new relationship'

Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati has revealed that she is ready for a new relationship.

The actress, who plays Sunita Alahan in the ITV1 soap, admitted that she is finally over an ex-boyfriend who cheated on her.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said: "Some poor blokes have had a rough time with me since then! But I think I'm ready for a new relationship.

"My priority has always been [my son] Akshay. I never intended to be a single mum, it certainly wasn't my plan for life. But I coped and I don't regret anything. Now that he's 15, though, and he can look after himself a bit more, there's room for me to explore the whole relationship thing.

"I'd like a geek. A geek with a little glint in his eye would be nice, because I'm a bit of a geek myself. I'd like a man with a sense of humour - he'd have to have one with me or he'd end up going mad. And he'd have to be very confident, with a career under his belt. I want someone hard-working who cares about what he does.

"I laugh at the blokes I used to like when I was younger - they'd have no job, they weren't interested in the same stuff as me, but I'd think, 'Oh well, he's good-looking. Why not?' That's so silly - now values are really important to me."

She added that she is thankful to have Coronation Street stylists on hand, saying: "To be honest, I'm still learning about make-up and glamour and all those things, but at least I have experts around me to show me what to do. I'm still a geek and I suppose I always will be. My new glasses add to it - they're meant to be quite trendy but I look more like Brain from Thunderbirds!"