Honour for creator Adil Ray

Citizen Khan creator Adil Ray has been made an OBE  in a the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours list

He tweeted: ‘So humbled to be part of #BirthdayHonours. Dedicated to my parents & to all who make our own contribution to Britain.’

Speaking to the BBC he added: ‘My parents, like many immigrant families, came to Britain with dreams of their own, and I feel very fortunate that with the help of many supportive people around me, I have been able to follow mine.’

And when former BBC One controller  Danny Cohen, who commissioned Citizen Khan, congratulated him, he said: ‘Feels unreal right now but you made my dreams real. Wish that for everyone. ‘

Birmingham-born Ray, 42, began his career as a host on a pirate radio station in Huddersfield while a student there, before moving on to commercial radio. He joined the BBC Asian Network in 2002 to present a late night show, before moving to drivetime and, in 2009, breakfast.

Citizen Khan, a self-appointed ‘community leader’, had his roots in Paul Whitehouse and Rhys Thomas’s Radio 4 spoof phone in Down The Line and its BBC Two spin-off Bellamy’s People.

He then made some online comedy shorts and in 2011 performed a sitcom based on his character in front of an audience at the BBC Salford Sitcom Showcase, which led to its BBC One primetime series. It has now run for four seasons, regularly topping three million viewers, with a fifth due this October.

Ray recently completed his first tour as Citizen Khan, playing large theatres and arenas (Chortle review).

However, the character has not been without criticism, with Labour MP Rupa Huq calling him ‘Islamophobic’ during a Commons debate. She said in April: ‘It’s a beardy weirdy chap and they’re not quite cutting off people’s hands but I can imagine that being in a future episode. You would think it’s an everyday tale of a Birmingham family of Muslims but they’re really quite backward.’

Downtown Abbey actress Penelope Wilton, whose comedy credits include Every Decreasing Circles with the late Richard Briers and Shaun Of The Dead with Simon Pegg, is made a dame for her services to drama.

By coincidence, Wilton, who turned 70 last week, plays a peculiar version of The Queen Elizabeth II Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month.

Ant and Dec and actor Brian Blessed also received OBEs in the honours list.

Other gongs include a knighthood for Rod Stewart and  a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George – usually given for ‘serving the UK abroad’ – for British astronaut Tim Peake, who is currently on the  International Space Station.

Published: 10 Jun 2016