Rishi Kumar Nair (born 22 January 1991) is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' (2017–2021) and the ITV detective drama '' Grantchester'' (2024–). He also appeared in the ITVX horror comedy '' Count Abdulla'' (2023).

Early life

Nair was born in the West London Borough of Ealing. He grew up in a Hindu family. Prior to going into acting, Nair studied law at university.

Career

Nair made his television debut in 2015 with appearances in episodes of the BBC One police procedurals '' Silent Witness'' and '' New Tricks''. He also had stage roles in ''The Jungle Book'' at the Emporium Theatre in Brighton, ''The Sawyer Studies'' at the Etcetera Theatre in London, and ''Bring on the Bollywood'' at Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. He appeared in the independent films ''I'm Still Here'' (2013), ''The Forbidden Note'' (2016), and ''Retribution'' (2017). Also in 2017, Nair joined the cast of the

soap opera ''

'' as lawyer Sami Maalik, a new member of the Maalik family, making his debut in September 2017. For his performance, Nair was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the 2018 ''Inside Soap'' Awards. He exited the soap at the end of 2021 after four years. After leaving ''Hollyoaks'', Nair appeared in the 2022 comedy film '' Brian and Charles'' and had guest roles in the Acorn TV crime drama '' Whitstable Pearl'' and the Netflix series '' Treason''. In 2023, Nair played Maajid in the ITVX vampire sitcom '' Count Abdulla''. In July 2023, it was announced Nair would join the cast of the ITV detective drama '' Grantchester'' for its ninth series as vicar Alphy Kottaram, replacing the outgoing Tom Brittney (who plays Reverend Will Davenport) in the main ensemble.

Personal life

Nair is a patron of the Family Burns Club charity.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:nair, rishi Living people 1991 births 21st-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Ealing English Hindus English male soap opera actors English people of Indian descent