Adil Ray

Adil Ray (, born 26 April 1974) is a British actor, comedian and radio/television presenter. Ray stars in the BBC One comedy Citizen Khan, which he created and co-writes, as well as presenting on various BBC radio stations. He is also a presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain, and has played the role of Sadiq Nawaz in the Channel 4 drama series Ackley Bridge. In 2021 he presented the revival of the British game show Lingo. Early life Ray was born in Birmingham, England, to a Punjabi Muslim father from Lahore, and an Indo-Kenyan mother. He was brought up in the suburb of Yardley. Ray's father Abdul worked as a bus driver for almost forty years. His mother worked for the Immigration Appeals Department in the Civil Service and was of Buganda and Kenyan Asian ancestry. Ray attended Yardley Junior and Infant School and Handsworth Grammar School, his first day being the day after the Handsworth Riots in 1985. Ray was a keen cricketer and represented Birmingham and District Premier League side West Bromwich Dartmouth during the late-1980s and early-1990s. Ray graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a 2:1 BA (Hons) in Marketing in 1997. Career Ray began his career as a radio host on a pirate radio station in Huddersfield while studying at the University of Huddersfield, and DJing at the university venue Eden (1992). Later, during his placement year, he got a job with a new small Asian radio station in Birmingham where he spent the first half of the year, before moving on to Choice FM (1995). In 1997, Ray landed a spot with Galaxy 105. He then joined Century Radio in Manchester, Radio Aire Leeds and Ministry of Sound Radio.