Simon was born in 1979. His parents are Sikhs who moved from the Punjab to Birmingham to run a corner shop and he speaks fluent Hindi and Punjabi. His real surname is Nahal,which means Little River so his stage name was a natural choice. When Simon was five the family moved to Berkshire,where,at school, he was taunted - not because he was Asian but because of his Midlands accent. On leaving school he took several jobs including extras work before enrolling on a three year course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts,graduating in 2007. He has since worked with several prodigious stage companies,appearing at the Globe,the West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Theatre Royal,Stratford. In February 2011 he took on a recurring role in the BBC daytime soap 'Doctors'.