Saikat Ahamed () is a British actor and writer based in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He is best known for his role of Vince Arya in '' Monday Monday''.

Early life

Ahamed was born in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and grew up in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, West Midlands, England in the 1980s. Ahamed attended King Edward's School in Birmingham, and left in 1992. In 1995, he graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. He then studied acting at the London Centre for Theatre Studies. He was twice Gold champion in Ballroom and Latin American dance. Ahamed mother's, Hashi, grew up in a war torn Barisal,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, trained as a doctor and made her way to the United Kingdom to provide an easier life for her children. His father is general practitioner Ahamed's family moved from Bangladesh in 1972 to the UK, where he was born and has lived since.

Career

Since 1999, Ahamed has been an actor working on stage, screen and radio. His work on television and film includes, the regular part of Vince Arya in '' Monday Monday'', '' East Is East'' and '' Trollied''. Ahamed's acting work includes '' A Fine Balance'' with Tamasha at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

, a National Tour of ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' with Tara Arts. At Tobacco Factory Theatre, he played Ali Baba in ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' as well as the 'step-brother' in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', both directed by Sally Cookson. He played the roles of James Henry Trotter in '' James and the Giant Peach'' at the Polka Theatre, Ben Gunn in '' Treasure Island'' at

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and

Tinker Bell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation '' Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...

in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' at Bristol Old Vic. He played Puck and as well as helped to puppeteer Puck in '' Midsummer Night's Dream'' at Bristol Old Vic, His theatre work also includes shows at The Kennedy Centre as well as stints at Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Leicester Haymarket Theatre and Man Mela. As a writer, Ahamed has completed a number of plays. In February 2013, he performed his one-man show '' The Tiger and the Moustache'' at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol. In 2015, he performed his one-man show '' Strictly Balti'': at The Gilded Balloon during the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in August, at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in October and

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in November, before embarking on a national tour. Since 2005, Ahamed has also worked as a professional storyteller, weaving his traditional tales in schools, restaurants, libraries and festivals in Bristol. In 2006, also received the Norman Beaton Fellowship from BBC Radio Drama and has worked regularly for them ever since. In December 2011, Ahamed's first radio play, ''Telling Tales'', was commissioned and aired on the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

. In February 2015, Ahamed was interviewed on BBC Somerset. In November and December 2015, he was interviewed by Nadia Ali on BBC Asian Network. In October 2022, he portrayed the role of Nabil Rahim in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''.

Personal life

Ahamed lives in Bristol with his wife, Jenny, and two children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Radio

References

External links

* * * Thomson, Wendy
Interview with actor and playwright Saikat Ahamed
''Female Arts''. 11 July 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahamed, Saikat 1970s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) English Muslims English people of Bangladeshi descent English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English male radio actors 21st-century English male actors Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Alumni of Cardiff University Male actors from Surrey