Abdullah Afzal

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Abdullah Afzaluddin
Native nameعبداللہ افضل
Born (1989-02-08) 8 February 1989 (age 35)
Islamic humour
Notable works and rolesCitizen Khan

Abdullah Afzal (Punjabi: عبداللہ افضل; born 8 February 1989) is a British actor and stand-up comedian.

Early life

Afzal was born on 8 February 1989 to a Pakistani family in

Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England. His family originates from Rawalpindi in Pakistan. He has three older brothers, two older sisters and a younger half-brother.[1] He attended Abraham Moss High School
in North Manchester.

Afzal trained for three years to be a hafiz.[2][3]

Career

In 2007, Afzal had his first acting role as a young student in a short film called Raamis (originally called Extraordinary Rendition).[4][5] Between 2008 and 2011, he starred as Asif in two seasons of BBC Three sitcom Lunch Monkeys.[1] Since 2012, he has portrayed the character of Amjad Malik in BBC One's Citizen Khan.[5]

In February 2014, Afzal presented the Christmas comedy specials on BBC Asian Network.[5] In July 2015, he performed stand-up at the Eid Special Comedy Night at The Comedy Store in London.[6][7]

In July 2014, Afzal played two roles in BBC Radio 4's By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier.[8]

In 2017, he appeared as Jahid in the romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah.[9]

In 2021, Afzal wrote, starred, and directed Cinder’aliyah, Britain’s first Muslim pantomime.[10][11] The pantomime is due to tour again in 2022.[12]

Personal life

He works at Manchester Airport and Eden Boys' Leadership academy Manchester to supplement his acting career ,[2][3] and lives in Manchester with his wife Uzma, who he married in 2015.[13]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Raamis Raamis Short film
2017 Finding Fatimah Jahid Feature film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008–2011 Lunch Monkeys Asif Khan 13 episodes
2012–2016 Citizen Khan Amjad Malik 27 episodes
2017
Celebrity MasterChef
Himself eliminated

Radio

Year Title Role Station
2012 By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier Railway Clerk / Sikh Soldier BBC Radio 4

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Lunch Monkeys: Abdullah Afzal". BBC. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b Ali, Umbreen (2 October 2013). "Citizen Khan: 'People call me Amjad in the street'". Lancashire Telegraph. Lancashire. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b Ali, Umbreen (2 October 2013). "Citizen Khan: 'People call me Amjad in the street'". Asian News. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Lunch Monkeys: Abdullah Afzal plays Asif Khan". BBC. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "BBC – Asian Network's Big Comedy Night – Performances – Abdullah Afzal". BBC Asian Network. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. ^ "HaLOL: can the UK have a laugh about Islam?". New Statesman. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ^ Rahim, Sameer (21 July 2011). "HaLOL Comedy Night, Comedy Store, review: 'challenging'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  8. ^ "By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier". BBC Radio 4. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Finding Fatimah official website". Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  10. ^ "World's only Muslim Panto opens this Christmas". ITV News. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  11. ^ Poole, Raff (24 January 2022). ""Cinder'aliyah": Britain's first Muslim pantomime from Abdullah Afzal". Hayat Life. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  12. ^ "The Great Muslim Panto is BACK!". pennyappeal.org. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  13. ^ Heward, Emily (11 December 2014). "Citizen Khan star Abdullah Afzal spills the beans on the long-awaited wedding episode". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 1 April 2016.

External links