Ali Shahalom

{{Short description|English comedian and television presenter (born 1992)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ali Shahalom

| native_name = আলী শাহআলম

| native_name_lang= bn

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|10|15|df=y }}

| birth_place = Devon, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| relatives =

| spouse =

| notable_works =

| education = University of Westminster

| signature =

| years_active = 2010–present

| website =

| footnotes =

| module = {{Infobox YouTube personality|embed=yes

| channel_handle = Aliofficial1

| channel_display_name = AliOfficialUK

| years_active = 2010–2016

| subscribers = 61.7 thousand

| views = 7.3 million

| stats_update = 27 March 2025

}}

Ali Shahalom ({{langx|bn|আলী শাহআলম}}; born 15 October 1992), also known by his stage name Ali Official, is an English comedian and television presenter of Bangladeshi descent.

Early life

Shahalom was born in Devon, England.{{cite AV media |people=Ali Shahalom |date=18 October 2013 |title=Documentary – @AliOfficial1 – #TheAccidentalJourney |type=Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8SbxBtxDzs |access-date=1 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018190229/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8SbxBtxDzs |archive-date=18 October 2013 |time=10:49 minutes in |publisher=IR Media |quote=Originally, I'm actually from the southwest of England in a place called Devon, but I moved to London for university to study, to do my degree, and I'm actually still doing my degree in London}} He studied drama and theatre at GCSE and A-level.{{cite news |url=http://www.issuu.com/asianexpressuk/docs/yorks_oct2|title=Interview with Youtube's celebrity brothers|edition=2|publisher=Asian Express|date=October 2013|page=26|access-date=1 August 2014}}{{cite news |last=Grint|first=Ashley|url=http://www.issuu.com/asianexpressuk/docs/yorks_oct3|title=Interview with Youtube's celebrity brothers|edition=3|publisher=Asian Express|date=October 2013|page=12|access-date=1 August 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.asianexpress.co.uk/2013/11/youtube-celebrity-brothers/|title=Youtube celebrity brothers|publisher=Asian Express|date=1 November 2013|access-date=1 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808040613/http://www.asianexpress.co.uk/2013/11/youtube-celebrity-brothers/|archive-date=2014-08-08|url-status=dead}} He moved to London to study at university. He then went on to work as a Digital Marketing Assistant for Warner Bros.

Career

Since April 2011, Shahalom and his younger brother, Shaheen (born in 2001),{{cite news|url=http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Local-restaurant-owner-star-channel-4-documentary/story-19521955-detail/story.html|title=Local restaurant owner to star in channel 4 documentary on Ramadan|location=Exeter|publisher=Express & Echo|date=15 July 2013|access-date=1 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045858/http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Local-restaurant-owner-star-channel-4-documentary/story-19521955-detail/story.html|archive-date=8 August 2014|url-status=dead}} have hosted their channel on YouTube called Aliofficial1 with comedy sketches. Their comedy videos often relate to their Bengali heritage and culture, and have subsequently attracted a large South-Asian following.

In July 2013, Shahalom appeared on Channel 4's month-long documentary series, Ramadan Diaries.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/4ramadan|title=4Ramadan|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=11 March 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4ramadan/4od#3599101|title=Ramadan Diaries – Day 11 – Tiverton|publisher=Channel 4|date=19 July 2013|access-date=1 September 2014}} In 2014, he was featured in two episodes of the comedy web series Corner Shop Show. Since May of the same year, he has hosted The Variety Show on Channel S, broadcast live every fortnight on Saturday at 8.30 pm. In July 2015, he collaborated with Humza Arshad on episode 19 of Badman's World.

In October 2015, he performed on the "Sounds of Light" tour with musicians Safe Adam and Harris J. In December 2015, he went on a 20 city national tour with the comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny and Guz Khan. Throughout 2017, Ali worked with BBC to script and star in Snapchat content, which went on to win a Social Buzz Award and a Digiday Award. In February 2017, Ali made a special guest appearance on BBC One's musical show Let It Shine. In March 2017, Ali helped with the social media planning for Channel 4's documentary Extremely British Muslims. In April 2017, he did four shows across the United States. In May 2017, Ali performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse for BBC Asian Network's Comedy Night.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/pKlcxtFQNt5dLftthrmnKw/the-story-of-the-asian-network-comedy-night-in-leeds-in-pictures|title=The Story of the Asian Network Comedy night in Leeds in Pictures|publisher=BBC Asian Network|access-date=11 March 2018}}

Recognition

In October 2016, Shahalom was named one of the "Young British Muslim Millennials Changing The World" by The Asian Today.{{cite news |last=Ramchurn|first=Sheena|url=http://www.theasiantoday.com/index.php/2016/10/11/tere-naal-ishqa-depicts-emotional-quotient-shivaay/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014001316/http://www.theasiantoday.com/index.php/2016/10/11/tere-naal-ishqa-depicts-emotional-quotient-shivaay/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=14 October 2016|title=GENERATION M: Young British Muslims Millenials Changing the World|publisher=The Asian Today|date=11 October 2016|access-date=11 March 2018}}