Abdullah Afzal

{{Infobox comedian

| name = Abdullah Afzal

| image =

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| native_name = {{nq|عبداللہ افضل}}

| native_name_lang= pnb

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1989|2|8}}

| birth_place = Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England

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| medium = Television, film, radio, stand-up

| nationality = British

| active = 2006–present

| genre = Observational humour

| subject = Islamic humour

| influences =

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| domesticpartner =

| notable_work = Citizen Khan

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}}

Abdullah Afzal ({{langx|pnb|عبداللہ افضل}}; born 8 February 1989) is a British actor and stand-up comedian.

Early life

Afzal was born on 8 February 1989 to Pakistani parents 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. His native language spoken at home was Pothwari.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/08_august/19/lunch_monkeys5.shtml|title=Lunch Monkeys: Abdullah Afzal|publisher=BBC|date=19 August 2009|access-date=1 April 2016}} He attended Abraham Moss High School in North Manchester.

Afzal trained for three years to be a hafiz.{{cite news |last=Ali|first=Umbreen|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10712007.Citizen_Khan___People_call_me_Amjad_in_the_street_/|title=Citizen Khan: 'People call me Amjad in the street'|location=Lancashire|newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph|date=2 October 2013|access-date=1 April 2016}}{{cite news |last=Ali|first=Umbreen|url=http://www.asianimage.co.uk/leisure/tv/10712007.Citizen_Khan___People_call_me_Amjad_in_the_street_/|title=Citizen Khan: 'People call me Amjad in the street'|publisher=Asian News|date=2 October 2013|access-date=1 April 2016}}

Career

In 2007, Afzal had his first acting role as a young student in a short film called Raamis (originally called Extraordinary Rendition).{{cite news |date=10 January 2011 |title=Lunch Monkeys: Abdullah Afzal plays Asif Khan |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/10/lunch_monkeys7.shtml |access-date=1 April 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ec82fx/acts/armdgw|title=BBC – Asian Network's Big Comedy Night – Performances – Abdullah Afzal|publisher=BBC Asian Network|date=7 February 2014|access-date=1 April 2016}} Between 2008 and 2011, he starred as Asif in two seasons of BBC Three sitcom Lunch Monkeys. Since 2012, he has portrayed the character of Amjad Malik in BBC One's Citizen Khan.

In February 2014, Afzal presented the Christmas comedy specials on BBC Asian Network. In July 2015, he performed stand-up at the Eid Special Comedy Night at The Comedy Store in London.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/03/halol-can-uk-have-laugh-about-islam|title=HaLOL: can the UK have a laugh about Islam?|magazine=New Statesman|date=10 March 2015|access-date=1 April 2016}}{{cite news |last=Rahim|first=Sameer|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/comedy-reviews/11750616/HaLOL-Comedy-Night-Comedy-Store-review-challenging.html|title=HaLOL Comedy Night, Comedy Store, review: 'challenging'|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=21 July 2011|access-date=1 April 2016}}

In July 2014, Afzal played two roles in BBC Radio 4's By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b049xtjw|title=By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier|publisher=BBC Radio 4|date=26 July 2014|access-date=1 April 2016}}

In 2017, he appeared as Jahid in the romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah.{{cite web|title=Finding Fatimah official website|url=http://www.findingfatimah.com/|access-date=3 Feb 2017}}

In 2021, Afzal wrote, starred, and directed Cinder’aliyah, Britain’s first Muslim pantomime.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-09 |title=World's only Muslim Panto opens this Christmas |url=https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-12-08/worlds-only-muslim-panto-opens-this-christmas |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=ITV News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=Raff |date=2022-01-24 |title="Cinder'aliyah": Britain's first Muslim pantomime from Abdullah Afzal |url=https://hayatlife.com/2022/01/24/abdullah-afzal-cinderaliyah/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=Hayat Life |language=en-CA}} The pantomime is due to tour again in 2022.{{Cite web |title=The Great Muslim Panto is BACK! |url=https://pennyappeal.org/news/great-muslim-panto-back |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=pennyappeal.org |language=en-gb}}

Personal life

He works at Manchester Airport and Eden Boys' Leadership academy Manchester to supplement his acting career , and lives in Manchester with his wife Uzma, who he married in 2015.{{cite news |last=Heward|first=Emily|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/citizen-khan-star-abdullah-afzal-8274564|title=Citizen Khan star Abdullah Afzal spills the beans on the long-awaited wedding episode|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|date=11 December 2014|access-date=1 April 2016}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
rowspan="1"\| 2010 \| Raamis \| Raamis \| Short film
rowspan="1"\| 2017 \| Finding Fatimah \| Jahid \| Feature film

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

rowspan="1"| 2010

| Raamis

| Raamis

| Short film

rowspan="1"| 2017

| Finding Fatimah

| Jahid

| Feature film

=Television=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
rowspan="1"\| 2008–2011 \| Lunch Monkeys \| Asif Khan \| 13 episodes
rowspan="1"\| 2012–2016 \| Citizen Khan \| Amjad Malik \| 27 episodes
rowspan="1"\| 2017 \| Celebrity MasterChef \| Himself \| eliminated

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

rowspan="1"| 2008–2011

| Lunch Monkeys

| Asif Khan

| 13 episodes

rowspan="1"| 2012–2016

| Citizen Khan

| Amjad Malik

| 27 episodes

rowspan="1"| 2017

| Celebrity MasterChef

| Himself

| eliminated

=Radio=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Station
rowspan="1"\| 2012 \| By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier \| Railway Clerk / Sikh Soldier \| BBC Radio 4

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Station

rowspan="1"| 2012

| By a Young Officer: Churchill on the North West Frontier

| Railway Clerk / Sikh Soldier

| BBC Radio 4