Adil Ray
| Adil Ray | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | April 26, 1974 Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Years active | present |
| Website | |
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/adilray | |
Adil Ray is a British radio and television presenter, and actor born 26 April 1974 in Birmingham, England.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Adil Ray is of Pakistani and Kenyan origin.[1] He began his career as a radio host on a pirate radio station in Huddersfield while studying at the University of Huddersfield and DJing at the university venue Eden. Later, during his placement year, he landed a job with a new small Asian radio station in Birmingham where he spent the first half of the year, before moving on to Choice FM. In 1997, Adil landed a spot with Galaxy 105, a job that made him the first full time British South Asian presenter to host a mainstream Commercial Radio Show in the UK. Adil stayed with Galaxy 105 for two years. After spells with Century Radio in Manchester, Aire FM Leeds and Ministry of Sound Radio he joined the BBC to front the digital launch of the Asian Network.
[edit] BBC career
Adil joined the BBC Asian Network in 2002 to present the late night Adil Ray Show, which aimed to "champion new music talent". In 2003 Adil was the first to interview and champion R&B star Jay Sean,[2] who has since topped the US charts. In May 2006 Adil took over the drivetime afternoon slot, and since January 2009 has presented the station's Breakfast Show from 7am each weekday morning, which features comedy sketches and satire.[2] In 2008 The Adil Ray Show won the best radio show category at the UK Asian Music Awards.[3] Adil has also been a regular on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk and has fronted documentaries for BBC Radio 4, including Picturing Britain and Towering Ambition. He has also appeared in the award winning BBC Asian Network radio soap, Silver Street.
He also presented the British Asian Arts and Lifestyle show Desi DNA on BBC Two. As part of the show Adil secured an interview with former Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan. This was the cricketer turned politician's first TV interview since divorcing Jemima Khan. Adil also hosted the BBC Four programme Tales from Europe where he explored the 24 hour lifestyle in Madrid. In 2007, Adil presented the Royal Television Society award-nominated show Is it Cos Is Black? for BBC Three where he looked at the issue of political correctness.[2][4] He has also filmed a documentaries strand for BBC Two called Explore, in which he reported from Argentina and Turkey.[4] In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Two comedy show Bellamy's People, playing characters including self-appointed "community leader" Mr Khan and Birmingham "Muslim DJ" MC Raa.[5]
In 2010 Adil reprised his role as Mr Khan to feature in his very own web series for BBC Comedy[6] to cover the UK general election. Mr Khan returned later in the year with a follow up BBC Comedy web series about the cricket to coincide with the Pakistan national team's visit to England that year.[7]
Adil left the BBC Asian Network on 4 June 2010 to pursue other radio and television as well as comedy acting and writing work.[8]
In the summer of 2010 Adil joined BBC Radio 5live as part of their cricket coverage. He can often be heard presenting the 5live late night show. Adil continues to make documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and is currently working on 'The Real Mr Khan' a documentary looking into the role of community leaders. Adil is also tackling the issue of sex and grooming in the Pakistani community in Britain in a BBC Radio 4 documentary on the subject which broadcast on 4 July 2011.
Meanwhile Adil continues his venture into comedy including the radio pilot 'Sparkhill Sound' that broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on May 12, 2011. A community radio station set in Birmingham. Adil was both writer and performer alongside Anil Gupta (writer), Gary Pillai and Vineeta Rishi (cast).
In October 2011 Adil performed his comedy 'Citizen Khan' at the BBC Salford Sitcom Showcase. The performance was a huge success. A week later it was commissioned as a BBC1 primetime series to be aired in Autumn 2012. Seen as the first ever Asian sitcom it will centre around Adil's comedy creation Mr Khan and his suffering family.
[edit] External links
- The Adil Ray web site
- BBC Asian Network
- Adil Ray Biography on BBC Asian Network
- Encore Feature Article on Adil Ray
[edit] References
- ^ BBC
- ^ a b c "Adil Ray biography". adilray.com. http://www.adilray.com/biography.html. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "Adil Ray wins gong for best radio show". Asian News. 10 March 2008. http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/entertainment/music/s/1040178_adil_ray_wins_gong_for_best_radio_show_. Retrieved 28 February 2010.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Adil Ray: 'Be real, and the rest will follow naturally' - Media, News". The Independent. 2008-08-11. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/adil-ray-be-real-and-the-rest-will-follow-naturally-890012.html. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ "Adil Ray in new BBC Two comedy". The Asian News. 14 January 2010. http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/entertainment/film_and_tv/s/1189068_adil_ray_in_new_bbc_two_comedy__bellamys_people. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "BBC Comedy - Mr Khan". BBC Comedy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/show/p007b7j6/mr_khan/.
- ^ "Mr Khan - Youtube". BBC Comedy. http://www.youtube.com/show/mrkhan.
- ^ http://www.adilray.com/news.html Adil Ray homepage
