Zuhair Hassan (born 19 August 1995), known professionally as Big Zuu, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ and television personality from West London. He is best known for presenting '' Big Zuu's Big Eats'' for

U&Dave U&Dave is a British free-to-air television channel owned by UKTV, a subsidiary of BBC Studios. It is known for broadcasting mainly 21st-century comedy and factual programming, with both original production and repeats. Launched in October 19 ...

Early and personal life

Hassan was born in London and grew up on the Mozart Estate in Harrow Road, West London. His mother is from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

and his father is from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. During his gap year between college and university, Hassan worked as a mentor for young children in a secondary school in

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

, East London. He then spent two years at Goldsmiths University in

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

studying towards a community development and youth work degree. He is a member of the MTP crew ''(My Team Paid)'', a rap group that consists of his cousin

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper and record producer from Ladbroke Grove, London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' in a list of "best new acts to c ...

and other grime MCs such as Ets and others; much like AJ Tracey, his first demos were recorded at their local youth centre, The Rugby Club, which let them use their studio so long as no expletives were used during the recording, forcing him to become creative to make his point. In a 2018 interview with

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

, Hassan stated that his music style was influenced by "old school" artists such as

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, Jme,

P Money Paris Joel Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his li ...

Ghetts Justin Jude Clarke-Samuel (born 9 October 1984), better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British Grime (music), grime MC, rapper, songwriter and actor. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio ...

and

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

. He is an avid supporter of

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

Television career

In late 2019,

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

channel

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

commissioned a new food show starring Hassan and various stand-up comedians. The show, '' Big Zuu's Big Eats'', began broadcasting on 15 May 2020. It features Hassan and two friends, Tubsey and Hyder, in a 10-part series cooking for stand-up comedians who were touring the UK. For each comedian, they prepare a made-to-order pre-show appetizer, followed by a three-course meal.

Rosie Jones Rosie Luisa Jones (born 24 June 1990) is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer on panel shows, she went on to appear as a guest on '' The Last Leg'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdo ...

Desiree Burch Desiree Lea Burch (born January 26, 1979) is an American comedian, actress, television presenter, and voice actress. Originally from Diamond Bar, California, Burch has also lived in New York, Streatham, Croydon and Peckham, having moved to London ...

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Gamble (born 10 March 1986) is an English comedian and television presenter. He is best known for co-presenting the ''Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, Off Menu'' podcast with James Acaster as well as his appearances ...

, Jamali Maddix,

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

, Josh Widdicombe,

London Hughes London Hughes (born 7 June 1989) is a British comedian, television writer and presenter. She wrote and starred in ''Laughter Shock'', a comedy for the BBC which Television pilot, piloted in 2010. Early life London Dionne Micha Stacey Stephanie E ...

, Lou Sanders,

Phil Wang Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Vòng Hîn-kùi''; born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 ser ...

and

Guz Khan Ghulam Dastgir Khan (; 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'' (series 1) and stand-up performances ...

make guest appearances in the series. In September 2020 it was confirmed that the show would return for two special episodes followed by a second series in 2021. The third series premiered on 4 July 2022; guests include

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour. Ve ...

, Katherine Ryan and

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

. He appeared on episode 11 of series 2 of ''Guessable''. He made an appearance on ''Jon & Lucy's Christmas Sleepover''. Hassan presented ''Big Zuu's Breakfast Show'' on Sunday mornings throughout the spring and summer of 2022 on ITV. In May 2022, Hassan won two Bafta TV Awards – entertainment performance and features for his show ''Big Zuu’s Big Eats'' at the 2022 British Academy Television Awards. In 2024, Hassan presented ''Big Zuu Goes to Mecca'', a documentary about his

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. In the documentary, he debated with a friend whether Hassan can be considered Muslim due to his alcohol consumption. In 2025 he appeared on Celebrity Bear Hunt on Netflix. He scored the winning goal for World XI at Soccer Aid 2025.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist

Filmography

Television

Publications

* ''Big Zuu's Big Eats'' (), 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Zuu 1995 births Living people Black British DJs Black British male rappers 21st-century British rappers English male rappers 21st-century male rappers English Muslims English television personalities Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Rappers from the London Borough of Camden Grime music artists English people of Sierra Leonean descent English people of Lebanese descent Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners People from Kilburn, London Rappers from the London Borough of Brent