New stars added to Adil Ray’s BBC One comedy

Kris Marshall of ‘My Family’ fame and Shobu Kapoor formerly of ‘EastEnders’ are to join Adil Ray in BBC One�۪s new comedy ‘Citizen Khan’.

Filming has just begun on the sitcom which will be shot on location in Birmingham and in front of a studio audience at MediaCityUK in Salford.

‘Citizen Khan’ is a warm family comedy set in Birmingham, which follows the trials and tribulations of self-appointed Muslim community leader Mr Khan (Adil Ray) and his long suffering family. Shobu Kapoor joins the cast to play the house-proud and much put-upon wife Mrs Khan. Kris Marshall will play affable Mosque manager Dave Goody, who Mr Khan loves and loathes in equal measure. Completing the cast are Maya Sondhi (Family Affairs) and Bavna Limbachia (The War Against Terror), who play feisty daughters Shazia and Alia respectively. Abdullah Afzal (Lunch Monkeys) portrays Amjad, Shazia�۪s handsome but dim fianc̩e.

Mr Khan is a larger than life character, a proud man with strong opinions and big dreams, which usually lead to even bigger problems. The challenges he faces are those of many families ��� how to make ends meet, keep his wife and daughters happy and impress the neighbours. Things would be so much easier if everyone just listened to him and followed his lead, but his family and friends usually have other ideas.

Created by Adil Ray, the character, Mr Khan has already featured in BBC Two comedy series ‘Bellamy�۪s People’ and on Radio Four�۪s ‘Down the Line’. In addition Mr Khan also hosted his own web series for the BBC Comedy website, in which he covered a variety of topics including the General Election, cricket and even delivered his own Christmas message to the nation.

The six 30-minute episodes of ‘Citizen Khan’ were commissioned after it was performed at the Salford Sitcom Showcase. The series was commissioned by Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One and Cheryl Taylor, Controller of Comedy Commissioning and will be produced by BBC In-House Comedy.