Sir Lenworth George Henry is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer.
The Kumars at No. 42 is a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and 2003, and won a Peabody Award in 2004. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC sketch comedy show originally aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998 and later televised on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001. The ensemble cast were four British Indian actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. The show explored British Asian culture, and the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian and Asian stereotypes. In the television series, most of the white characters were played by Dave Lamb and Fiona Allen; in the radio series those parts were played by the cast themselves. Some of the white characters were also played by Amanda Holden and Emma Kennedy.
Meera Syal FRSL is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42. She became one of the UK's best-known Asian personalities.
British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class system. These are often accompanied by a deadpan delivery which is present throughout the British sense of humour. It may be used to bury emotions in a way that seems unkind in the eyes of other cultures. Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is off-limits, though a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is sometimes considered insensitive. Many British comedy series have become successful internationally, serving as a representation of British culture to overseas audiences.
Nina Wadia is an English actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan, Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy Still Open All Hours and for starring in the BBC Two sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
Fiona Allen is an English comedian and actress, most known for her work on Channel 4's Smack the Pony between 1999 and 2003.
Kulvinder Ghir is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as one of the cast members in the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1998–2015). He is also known for playing Aslam in the Yorkshire-based film Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1987), and Poly Verisof in Foundation.
Nitin Sawhney is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics, and spirituality. Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, is chair of the PRS Foundation, sits on the board of trustees of theatre company Complicité, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions. In 2021 he was an ambassador for the Royal Albert Hall.
Shaggy Dog Story is a three-minute promotional trailer for Children in Need, put together by the BBC and Gorgeous Productions in 1999 as a sequel to the previous year's Future Generations video, and the great success of 1997's "Perfect Day" charity single. It was first shown on Christmas Day 1999. A slightly extended alternative version was created but never aired.
Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Andrew Zaltzman is a British comedian who largely deals in political and sport-related material.
Sanjeev Singh Kohli is a Scottish actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as shopkeeper Navid Harrid in the BBC sitcom Still Game, Ramesh Majhu in the radio sitcom Fags, Mags and Bags (2007–present), and A.J. Jandhu in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City (2015–2022). Since 2019, Kohli has hosted his own television talk show Sanjeev Kohli's Big Talk, on the BBC Scotland channel.
Anita and Me is a 2002 British comedy-drama film directed by Metin Hüseyin and starring Chandeep Uppal, Kabir Bedi, and Anna Brewster. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Meera Syal. It was released during a period of popularity for British Asian films, alongside such as East Is East and Bend It Like Beckham.
Nitin Chandra Ganatra is a Kenyan-born British actor. He is known for portraying Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders (2007–2019), for which he won a British Soap Award.
Adil Ray is a British actor, comedian and radio/television presenter. Ray stars in the BBC One comedy Citizen Khan, which he created and co-writes, as well as presenting on various BBC radio stations. He is also a presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain, and has played the role of Sadiq Nawaz in the Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge. In 2021 he presented the revival of the British game show Lingo.
David Alexander Lamb is an English actor, comedian, narrator and presenter. He is best known for his narration work on Come Dine with Me as well as appearances in British television and radio programmes, especially comedy programmes like Goodness Gracious Me. He also presented the CBBC game show Horrible Histories: Gory Games.
Sharat Sardana was a British comedy writer, voice artist and producer who worked on TV series including Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, which won 2 International Emmys.
Nishant Kumar is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter, political commentator, and podcast host. He became known as the host of satirical comedy The Mash Report, now known as Late Night Mash. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi. Since May 2023, he has been the co-host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK.
This is a list of scripted British television programmes featuring one or more actors of Asian ancestry as the programme's leading actor portraying the protagonist or protagonists.
