Kulvinder Ghir is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as one of the cast members in the sketch show '' Goodness Gracious Me'' (1998–2015). He is also known for playing Aslam in the Yorkshire-based film '' Rita, Sue and Bob Too!'' (1987), and Poly Verisof in ''Foundation''.

Early life

Ghir was born in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya to Indian Punjabi parents of

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

heritage. Ghir grew up in the Chapeltown suburb of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, England. Ghir first began performing on stage at 13, going on to play comedy clubs between 15 and 17, thereafter enrolling in a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

drama school.

Career

Ghir made his first television appearance as a teenager in 1981 on the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

programme ''The Extraordinary People Show''. At the time, he was looking at going into animation, and was one of three teenagers chosen to question

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

about his techniques, and for general advice. His next TV appearance was in 1985, in the recurring role of Davy Malik in the BBC drama '' Howards' Way''. His breakthrough role came in 1987, in the controversial British film '' Rita, Sue and Bob Too!''. Since then, he has worked extensively in film, television and theatre. He is best known as being one of four regular cast members in the BBC sketch comedy ''Goodness Gracious Me'', in both its radio and TV incarnation. Amongst the many characters Ghir played were "Chunky Lafunga", a sexy

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

"hero", the superhero Bhangra Man, and as one half of the "Bhangramuffins" duo (alongside series co-writer

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two sketch comedy series ''Goodness Gracious Me (TV series), Goodness Gracious Me'' and as t ...

). He is also known for providing the voice of Ajay Bains in ''

Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop motion animated television series, animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a Mail carrier, postman who works for the Royal ...

''. His play ''Dusky Warriors'' premiered at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, London, in 1995. He also lent his voice to a few animated series aside from ''

'', including '' Chop Socky Chooks'' and the 2015 reboot of ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...

''. In 2009, he was in the film '' 31 North 62 East'' as Tariq. From September 2009 to May 2011, Ghir was part of the cast of

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

comedy series '' Lunch Monkeys'', playing Mohammed Khan, father of Abdullah Afzal's character. The show lasted two series. In 2013, he appeared as one of the feuding brothers in the film '' Jadoo''. He also appeared in the final episode of the sitcom '' Big School'', as Mr Rupesh the school bus driver. He also hosted the 2013 Brit Asia TV Music Awards. Since 2013, he has played Cyril in ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom (2013–2019) created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom '' Open All Hours'' (1976–1985), which both Clarke and Jason were invol ...

''. In 2019, he played the protagonist's father in ''

Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billb ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghir, Kulvinder Living people 20th-century British comedians 21st-century British comedians 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors British Asian writers British male film actors British male musical theatre actors British male Shakespearean actors British male stage actors British male television actors British male voice actors British people of Indian descent British people of Indo-Kenyan descent British people of Punjabi descent British Sikhs Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom Male actors from Leeds Royal Shakespeare Company members Writers from Leeds Writers from Nairobi Year of birth missing (living people)