Guz Khan

For the American lyricist, see Gus Kahn.

Guz Khan
غلام دستگیر خان
Khan in 2022
Born
Ghulam Dastgir Khan[1]

(1986-01-24) 24 January 1986
Coventry, England, U.K.
Other namesGuzzy Bear[2]
EducationStoke Park School
Alma materCoventry University (BA)
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • writer
  • actor
  • television director
  • television producer
Years active2014–present
AgentCurtis Brown[3]
Known forMan Like Mobeen
Children5
Websiteguzkhan.com

Ghulam Dastgir Khan (Urdu, Punjabi: غلام دستگیر خان; born 24 January 1986), also known as Guz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances include Man Like Mobeen, Taskmaster (series 12), Our Flag Means Death (season 1) and stand-up performances on Live at the Apollo.

Early life

Khan was born on 24 January 1986 in Coventry, in the West Midlands county of England to Pakistani immigrants. Khan's parents are Punjabi Muslims who had emigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1980s. He has two sisters who are ten and eleven years older than him.[4] His father died when he was three.[5]

Khan grew up on a housing estate in Hillfields, a suburb of Coventry,[6] and attended Stoke Park School. He graduated from Coventry University with a Bachelor of Arts degree,[7] and went on to teach Humanities at Grace Academy.[8]

Career

Breakthrough

Khan uploaded his first video to Facebook in 2014; in June of that year, he first performed on stage, opening for Aamer Rahman at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. His second time on stage was at a comedy evening at the Library of Birmingham BBC Asian Network organised for Comic Relief, with Citizen Khan.[2] Khan performed under the stage name "Guzzy Bear".[2]

In June 2015, whilst performing as his character Mobeen, a Muslim living in Small Heath,[2] Khan made a video called "Pakisaurus", expressing mock outrage at the lead character in the film Jurassic World[9][10] shouting the line "the Pachys are out of containment" (an abbreviation of Pachycephalosaurus),[9][11] observing it to be a homophone of Paki, a racial slur for people of South Asian descent.[12] During the video, Khan also discovers Pakisaurus is the name of a real dinosaur from Pakistan.[9] In six days, the video was watched over 340,000 times on YouTube, and it has also received over 700,000 views on Facebook.[12] Khan's hashtag on Twitter, #BoycottJurassicWorld gained attention,[13][14][15] After the Birmingham Mail publicised the story, Khan was interviewed by radio stations in the United States and Indonesia.[2]

Stand-up comedy

In December 2015, Khan performed at BBC Asian Network's Big Comedy Night in Birmingham, a special comedy night celebrating 50 years of Asian programmes on the BBC.[16][17]

He has also performed on the BBC2 stand-up show Live at the Apollo, in an episode aired on 31 December 2017, hosted by the comedian Henning Wehn.[18]

Critics have celebrated Khan for his distinctive on-stage style, described as "his fusion of British-urban-Islamic clothing and personal accessories."[19]

Television

In June 2015, Khan made a short film Roadman Ramadan as part of the British Muslim Comedy series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by the BBC to be released on BBC iPlayer.[20][21][22] Khan's sketch was a guide to Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting during daylight hours, which sees Khan's character Mobeen guide his newly converted friend Trev through his first Ramadan.

In July 2015, Khan gave up his job as a school teacher to pursue a career in comedy after his YouTube clips went viral.[2] In November, he featured in an episode of comedy web series Corner Shop Show. In 2016, he went on to play the rambunctious baggage handler Mo Khan in Borderline.[23]

In December 2017, Khan's four-part BBC comedy series Man Like Mobeen was released on BBC iPlayer.[8][24][25][26] Three more series of the show have been produced, which were released on BBC iPlayer in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2025.[27][28]

In March 2019, Khan appeared as a guest on Hypothetical.

In 2020, he appeared in Four Weddings And a Funeral,[29][30] a miniseries created by Mindy Kaling that is a re-imagining of the original film.[31][32]

In September 2021, Khan appeared on the twelfth series of Taskmaster.

In December 2021, Khan appeared as Bonzo in Beauty and the Beast: A Pantomime for Comic Relief, originally broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 21 December.[33]

In February 2022, Khan narrated the Peaky Blinders Ultimate Recap on BBC One.[34]

In March 2022, Khan appeared in the HBO Max comedy pirate series Our Flag Means Death, where he played Ivan, a member of Blackbeard's crew. Khan was the only main actor dropped ahead of the second season of the show.[35] Responding to the decision, he tweeted: "This is the industry sometimes. They might be choosing a different direction creatively, maybe it's financial decision, maybe they weren't feeling your boy."

In March 2024, Khan appeared in the Netflix show The Gentlemen, where he played Chucky "The Cobra" Kubra, an experienced money launderer.

Commercial endorsements

In June 2019, Khan appeared in an advert for Walkers crisps alongside the Spice Girls, playing Dev, the group's biggest fan.[36]

In February 2020, Uber Eats launched a UK-wide brand campaign starring Khan as a charismatic courier spreading positivity.[37]

Film

In 2017, Khan appeared as Rocky in the romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah.[38]

In 2019, Khan appeared alongside Idris Elba in the Netflix comedy show Turn Up Charlie[29] which premiered on 15 March 2019.[39]

In 2022, Khan appeared in the main cast of the film The Bubble, playing actor Howie Frangopolous.

In 2024, Khan played the voice of Dasher the reindeer in the Netflix animated film That Christmas which was released on 4 December 2024.

Political views

Khan supported Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 UK General Election, encouraging people to vote Labour.[40][41] He is a supporter of the Palestinian cause.[42][43]

Personal life

Khan is a Muslim.[2] He lives with his wife and five children in the West Midlands.[2] Khan is a supporter of Manchester United F.C.[44]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2017 Finding Fatimah Rocky
2018 Walk Like a Panther Terry Khan
2021 Army of Thieves Rolph
2022 The Bubble Howard "Howie" Frangopolous
2024 How to Date Billy Walsh Mr. Atkins
2024 That Christmas Dasher (voice)
TBA Girl Group TBA

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Corner Shop Show Episode: "The Beginning of the End"
Half My Faith, All My Struggle Himself 2 episodes
Sky Comedy Christmas Shorts Abid Episode: "Tez Ilyas' Christmas"
2016; 2017 Drunk History Marshall Boucicault/ Henry's Manservant 2 episodes
2016–2017 Borderline Mo Khan Recurring cast
Zapped Skylark Recurring cast
2016 Doctors Guzzy Bear Episode: "Mother's Ruin"
BBC Comedy Feeds Mobeen Episode: "Man Like Mobeen", also writer
Dropperz Big Gib Episode: "Bunny's Bitten It"
Halloween Comedy Shorts Episode: "Guz Khan's Horror: Frightbusters"
The Apprentice: You're Fired Himself Episode: "Cycling Crowdfunding"
2017 Celebrity Eggheads Himself Series 7, episode 17
Life Lessons Himself Episode: "The Worst Things About Being a Teacher"
Loaded Tech Head Episode: "The Expo"
2017–2025 Man Like Mobeen Mobeen Main role, also creator
2017; 2019 Live at the Apollo Himself 2 episodes
2018 Sunday Brunch Himself 3 episodes
The Chris Ramsey Show Himself Series 2, episode 5
2019 Curfew Cheese Main cast
Turn Up Charlie Del Recurring cast
The Tez O'Clock Show Himself 2 episodes
Four Weddings and a Funeral Basheer Main cast
2019–2022 Hypothetical Himself 4 episodes
2019–2020 The Big Narstie Show Himself 2 episodes
2019–2021 There's Something About Movies Himself 6 episodes
2019; 2023 A League of Their Own Himself 2 episodes
2019; 2022 Would I Lie to You? Himself 2 episodes
2020–2025 The Last Leg Himself 11 episodes
2020; 2025 The One Show Himself 2 episodes
2020 The Russell Howard Hour Himself 14 episodes
Russell Howard's Home Time Himself Episode: "Lockdown Life"
Joe Lycett's Got Your Back Himself Episode: "Guz Khan, Fly Tippers and Recycling Shame"
Big Zuu's Big Eats Himself Episode: "Guz Khan"
Comedy Game Night Himself Main cast, team captain
Frankie Boyle's New World Order Himself Series 4, episode 1
Spitting Image Various (voice)[45] 3 episodes
Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas Buttons TV special[46]
2021–2022 The Adventures of Paddington Baz 50 episodes
2021 Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Himself Episode: "The Accuracy of a Pigeon"
Taskmaster Himself Main cast– series 12
The Ranganation Himself Series 4, episode 3
The Jonathan Ross Show Himself Season 18, episode 4
One Night in... Himself Episode: "London Zoo"
Beauty and the Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas Bonzo TV movie[47]
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year Himself TV special
2021; 2023; 2025 BBC New Comedy Awards Himself 3 episodes, hosted 2025 final[48][49]
2022 Our Flag Means Death Ivan Main cast
Comic Relief: Red Nose Day Himself TV movie
Richard Hammond's Brain Reaction Himself Episode 4
The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show Himself Series 1, episode 5
Trip Hazard Himself Episode: "Blackpool"
Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable Himself Series 3, episode 4
The Unofficial Science of Home Alone Himself TV special
2022; 2024 QI Himself 3 episodes
2022–2023 Celebrity Gogglebox Himself 3 episodes
The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan Himself 2 episodes
2022; 2025 Blankety Blank Himself 2 episodes
2023 The John Bishop Show Himself Series 2, episode 2
Fantasy Football League Himself 3 episodes
Wonders of the World I Can't See Himself Episode: "Jordan"[50]
Rhod Gilbert's Growing Pains Himself Series 5, episode 1
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice Himself Series 10, episode: "Bread Week"
Outsiders Himself Main cast[51]
My Super-Rich Holiday Himself With Eddie Kadi[52][53]
Late Night Lycett Himself Episode: "Christmas Special"
Sports Funniest 2023 with Greg James Himself TV special
2023–2024 CBeebies Bedtime Story Himself 3 episodes
2023; 2025 Have I Got News for You Himself 2 episodes
2023–present Digman![54] Zane Troy (voice) Main cast
2024 The Gentlemen Chucky Episode: "All Eventualities"
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin Gow Episode: "Run Wilde"
The Weakest Link Himself Series 3, episode 15
Battle in the Box Himself Episode: "Guz Khan & Rachel Parris v Amy Gledhill & Josh Pugh"
The Wheel Himself Series 5, episode 7
2025 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Himself 3 episodes
Iain Stirling's Roast the Internet Himself Series 1, episode 2
Together for Palestine Himself TV special
Stuffed Arslan Farooqi TV movie, also executive producer[55]
2026 Guz Khan’s Custom Cars Host TV series[56]
Bait Zulfi Regular role[57]

Accolades

Year Award Category Title Result
2020 Broadcast Digital Awards Best Comedy Programme Man Like Mobeen[58][59] Won
British Academy Television Awards Best Male Comedy Performance Man Like Mobeen[60] Nominated
2021 British Academy Television Awards Nominated
British Academy Television Awards Scripted Comedy Nominated
2022 Peabody Awards[61] Entertainment Our Flag Means Death Nominated

References

  1. ^ Rodger, James (8 October 2018). "Man Like Mobeen star Guz Khan 'saves boy's life' after mugging". CoventryLive. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Laws, Roz (13 July 2015). "Comedian Guzzy Bear gives up teaching job after Jurassic World stunt went viral". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. ^ https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/guz-khan
  4. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Comedy of the Week, Things My Mother Never Told Me (... About Lockdown)". BBC. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Guz Khan: The real deal role model". Royal Television Society. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. ^ Lobb, Adrian (2 January 2020). "Guz Khan: 'We wanted to dispel myths around foodbanks'". The Big Issue. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  7. ^ Lacey, Hester (25 January 2019). "Q&A with comedian and writer Guz Khan". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b Rodger, James (7 December 2015). "Coventry teacher turned comedian Guz Khan gets TV pilot and soap cameo". Coventry Telegraph. Coventry. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Cannon, Matt (18 June 2015). "Jurassic World blasted by Small Heath comedy character after dinosaur abbreviation slip". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  10. ^ Lebeau, Jordan (18 June 2015). "British comic accuses 'Jurassic World' of racism, wins at word bingo". Boston Globe. Boston. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  11. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (20 June 2015). "Comedian leads Jurassic World boycott over 'racist' dinosaur name". Metro. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  12. ^ a b James, Richard (19 June 2015). "This Comedian Is Calling For People To Boycott 'Jurassic World' Over Its Dinosaur "Racism". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  13. ^ Farooq, Aisha (22 June 2015). "#Pakisaurus trends for Jurassic World boycott". Desi Blitz. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ^ Ragan, Nitya (17 June 2015). "Jurassic World Boycott Plans in Motion As Comedian Discovers Accidental Racism". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  15. ^ Haysom, Sam (18 June 2015). "British comedian accuses 'Jurassic World' of prehistoric racism in hilarious rant". Mashable. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  16. ^ "Special comedy night to feature Tez Ilyas, Guz Khan, Shaista Aziz and Aditi Mittal". Asian Image. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Guz Khan". BBC Asian Network. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  18. ^ "BBC Two – Live at the Apollo, Series 13, episode 4".
  19. ^ Symons, Alex (14 February 2024). "Transcultural Comedy in Man Like Mobeen (2017-2023): How the BBC is Merging "Us"/"Them."". Journal of Popular Film and Television. 51 (4): 196. doi:10.1080/01956051.2023.2277258. ISSN 0195-6051.
  20. ^ Jones, Alice (25 June 2015). "Ramadan films and HaLOL: the rise of British Muslim Comedy". The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  21. ^ Badat, Hafeeza (19 June 2015). "British Muslim Comedy Takes Over BBC iPlayer". Asian Image. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Guz Khan: Roadman Ramadan". BBC iPlayer. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  23. ^ "Borderline – C5 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
  24. ^ "Man Like Mobeen". BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  25. ^ "BBC – Man Like Mobeen coming to BBC Three for brand new series – Media Centre".
  26. ^ "BBC iPlayer – Man Like Mobeen".
  27. ^ "British Comedy Guide:Man Like Mobeen series and episodes list". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  28. ^ "BBC Three's Man Like Mobeen returns for a third series – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Guz Khan: 'Man Like Mobeen' creator, rising comedy star, working class hero". The Big Issue. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2 November 2018). "'Four Weddings And A Funeral': Andie MacDowell To Appear On Hulu Series, Nathalie Emmanuel To Star In Recasting". Deadline. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  31. ^ "Guz Khan joins Four Weddings : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  32. ^ "Guz Khan talks Man Like Mobeen and educating through comedy". Evening Standard. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  33. ^ "BBC Two - A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas, Beauty and the Beast". BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  34. ^ "BBC One - Peaky Blinders, Peaky Blinders Ultimate Recap". 23 February 2022.
  35. ^ O'Rourke, Ryan (6 June 2022). "'Our Flag Means Death' Season 2: Guz Khan Not Returning". Collider. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  36. ^ Staff Reporter (2 June 2019). "GUZ-A-GUZ-AH! Comedian Guz Khan joins the Spice Girls in hilarious new Walkers crisps ad". I Am Birmingham. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  37. ^ "'Bring It': Uber Eats and Guz Khan serve up some motivation in first ads from Mother". The Drum. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Finding Fatimah official website". Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  39. ^ Mitchell, Robert (3 January 2019). "First Look: Idris Elba in Netflix Comedy 'Turn Up Charlie'". Variety. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  40. ^ Khan, Guz [@GuzKhanOfficial] (12 December 2019). "For the MANY not the FEW. Labour. @UKLabour @jeremycorbyn https://t.co/JzQjh6Id9f" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  41. ^ Khan, Guz [@GuzKhanOfficial] (21 November 2019). "This is a ONCE in a generation chance to dispel the Tories who serve the FEW, and empower those who will serve the MANY... Vote @UKLabour and change the game ✊🏾 https://t.co/ZgXQL1iySQ" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Staff Reporter (10 May 2019). "Soweto Kinch, Salma Yaqoob, Maz Saleem and Lowkey pledge support for pro-Palestine rally". I Am Birmingham. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  43. ^ Khan, Guz [@GuzKhanOfficial] (5 August 2022). "I might have got the axe from Our Flag Means Death, but I'll always be flying the flag for you my G 🇵🇸🤲🏾💚 https://t.co/M7BGkaK8A5" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  44. ^ "FA Cup third-round predictions - Lawro v comedian Guz Khan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  45. ^ Hilton, Kevin. "This is how The Farm put together the audio for Spitting Image". www.redsharknews.com. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  46. ^ "BBC Two announces star-studded Cinderella pantomime | Royal Television Society". rts.org.uk. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  47. ^ "BBC Two - A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas, Beauty and the Beast". BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  48. ^ "BBC New Comedy Awards". Bradford 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  49. ^ "Guz Khan To Host BBC New Comedy Awards Final In Bradford". Beyond The Joke. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  50. ^ "Wonders of the World I Can't See". channel4.com/programmes. 11 July 2023.
  51. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Who's in series 3 of David Mitchell's Outsiders? : News 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  52. ^ "My Super-Rich Holiday". channel4.com/programmes. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  53. ^ Gilbert, Gerard (26 October 2023). "On TV tonight, Strictly's Eddie Kadi and Guz Khan go on a Super-Rich Holiday to Accra". The i Paper. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  54. ^ Hailu, Selome (14 September 2022). "Andy Samberg's 'Digman!' Animated Series Casts Six Including Melissa Fumero, Tim Meadows, Tim Robinson". Variety. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  55. ^ "Stuffed with Guz Khan comes to the BBC this Christmas". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  56. ^ "DC Customs Featured on Guz Khan's Custom Cars – A Must-Watch for Car Enthusiasts". dccustoms.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  57. ^ Otterson, Joe (13 August 2024). "Riz Ahmed's Amazon Comedy Series Casts 'Man Like Mobeen' Star Guz Khan". Variety. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  58. ^ administrator (15 October 2020). "Man Like Mobeen wins Broadcast award". Film Birmingham. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  59. ^ "Winners". Broadcast Digital Awards. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  60. ^ Souza, Naomi de (29 April 2021). "Coventry legend Guz Khan nominated for two BAFTA awards". Coventry Live. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  61. ^ Voyles, Blake (20 September 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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