28 November

Citizen Khan (2012-current) doesn’t just star Adil Ray – he created and writes it too! He reveals that the idea for his character Mr Khan comes from his childhood. “From young, I remember being fascinated by adults. I’d sit with grownups and watch and study them. Some of Mr Khan’s characteristics must have been stored in my memory,” says Adil.

While Adil was born in the UK, his parents are immigrants – his dad Abdul is from Pakistan and mom Nargis is from Kenya. They moved to the UK as teens and met in Birmingham. Showbiz wasn’t on the cards for the 41-year-old – he was planning to go into the corporate world and got his bachelors degree in marketing from the University Of Huddersfield in 1992. He used to DJ in his spare time at varsity and in 1995 was hired as a full-time DJ at dance radio station Capital Xtra (formerly Choice FM). Adil’s also cricket mad and played in the West Bromwich Dartmouth league from 1980 until 1994. He was banned from driving in 2005 after he was involved in a drunk-driving accident, writing off his car in the process. His bosses at the BBC Asian Network insisted that the matter was private and let Adil keep his job. He’s got loads of admirers and while Adil’s never been married, he is in a long-term relationship, adding that “although I’ve dated and had relationships, part of what has stopped me going further is that I want it to be perfect. I’ve suffered from my parents’ experience – they divorced when I was just a boy of 10”.