Abdullah Afzal

Abdullah Afzaluddin
Native name	عبداللہ افضل
Born	(1989-02-08) 8 February 1989 (age 35) Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England
Medium	Television, film, radio, stand-up
Nationality	British
Years active	2006–present
Genres	Observational humour
Subject(s)	Islamic humour
Notable works and roles	Citizen 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

• Islamic humour
• British Pakistani
• List of British Pakistanis

References

1. "Lunch Monkeys: Abdullah Afzal". BBC. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
2. Ali, Umbreen (2 October 2013). "Citizen Khan: 'People call me Amjad in the street'". Lancashire Telegraph. Lancashire. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
3. 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. "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

• Abdullah Azfal at IMDb
• Abdullah Azfal on Twitter