Citizen Khan | |
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Series 4 & 5 Title Card
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Adil Ray |
Developed by |
Anil Gupta Richard Pinto Adil Ray |
Written by |
Anil Gupta Richard Pinto Adil Ray |
Directed by | Nick Wood |
Starring |
Adil Ray Shobu Kapoor Kris Marshall (2012) Matthew Cottle (2013—) Krupa Pattani (2015—) Bhavna Limbachia |
Theme music composer | Kam Frantic |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 5 |
No. of episodes | 34 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Mark Freeland |
Producer(s) | Paul Schlesinger |
Location(s) | Sparkhill, East Birmingham (setting) MediaCityUK (filming) |
Running time | 25–28 minutes |
Production company(s) | BBC |
Distributor | BBC Worldwide |
Release | |
Original network | BBC One BBC One HD |
Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
Audio format | Dolby Digital |
Original release | 27 August 2012 | – present
Chronology | |
Related shows | Bellamy's People Down the Line |
External links | |
Citizen Khan at the BBC | |
Production website |
Citizen Khan is a family-based British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray, now in its fifth series. It is set in Sparkhill, East Birmingham, described by its lead character, a Pakistani Muslim Mr Khan (Adil Ray), as "the capital of British Pakistan". Citizen Khan follows the trials and tribulations of Mr Khan, a loud-mouthed, patriarchal, cricket-loving, self-appointed community leader, and his long suffering wife (played by Shobu Kapoor) and daughters Shazia (Maya Sondhi 2012–2014, Krupa Pattani 2015–) and Alia (Bhavna Limbachia). In Series One, Kris Marshall starred as Dave, the manager of Mr Khan's local mosque. The first name of Mrs Khan is Razia, however Mr Khan's first name is never revealed.
The title of the show is a play on the title of the Orson Welles film Citizen Kane. The character Mr Khan had already featured in the BBC Two comedy series Bellamy's People, on BBC Radio 4's Down the Line and on his own online series on the BBC Comedy website. On 27 September 2012, the BBC announced that Citizen Khan had been commissioned for a second series. On 2 December 2013, BBC controller Charlotte Moore announced that Citizen Khan had been renewed for a third series which began airing on 31 October 2014. On 11 December 2014, BBC comedy controller Shane Allen announced that a fourth series had been commissioned. On 14 October 2015, the official Facebook page of Citizen Khan confirmed through a video of Mr Khan that the fourth series would begin on 30 October 2015. On 20 January 2016, it was confirmed the show would return for a fifth series which started airing on 4 November 2016.
Although Adil Ray is a Muslim, the show has divided opinion on whether its humour is a mockery of followers of that religion. Ray maintains that Mr Khan is a comic character who is intended for families of any ethnic background to relate to, as with other British family sitcoms.