Ghulam Dastgir Khan (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 24 January 1986), also known as Guz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances include Man Like Mobeen, Taskmaster (series 12), Our Flag Means Death (season 1) and stand-up performances on Live at the Apollo.
Early life Khan was born on 24 January 1986 in Coventry, in the West Midlands county of England to Pakistani immigrants. Khan's parents are Punjabi Muslims who had emigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1980s. He has two sisters who are ten and eleven years older than him. His father died when he was three.
Khan grew up on a housing estate in Hillfields, a suburb of Coventry, and attended Stoke Park School. He graduated from Coventry University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and went on to teach Humanities at Grace Academy.
Career
Breakthrough Khan uploaded his first video to Facebook in 2014; in June of that year, he first performed on stage, opening for Aamer Rahman at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. His second time on stage was at a comedy evening at the Library of Birmingham BBC Asian Network organised for Comic Relief, with Citizen Khan. Khan performed under the stage name "Guzzy Bear".
In June 2015, whilst performing as his character Mobeen, a Muslim living in Small Heath, Khan made a video called "Pakisaurus", expressing mock outrage at the lead character in the film Jurassic World shouting the line "the Pachys are out of containment" (an abbreviation of Pachycephalosaurus), observing it to be a homophone of Paki, a racial slur for people of South Asian descent. During the video, Khan also discovers Pakisaurus is the name of a real dinosaur from Pakistan. In six days, the video was watched over 340,000 times on YouTube, and it has also received over 700,000 views on Facebook. Khan's hashtag on Twitter, #BoycottJurassicWorld gained attention, After the Birmingham Mail publicised the story, Khan was interviewed by radio stations in the United States and Indonesia.
Stand-up comedy In December 2015, Khan performed at BBC Asian Network's Big Comedy Night in Birmingham, a special comedy night celebrating 50 years of Asian programmes on the BBC.
He has also performed on the BBC2 stand-up show Live at the Apollo, in an episode aired on 31 December 2017, hosted by the comedian Henning Wehn.
Critics have celebrated Khan for his distinctive on-stage style, described as "his fusion of British-urban-Islamic clothing and personal accessories."
Television In June 2015, Khan made a short film Roadman Ramadan as part of the British Muslim Comedy series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by the BBC to be released on BBC iPlayer. Khan's sketch was a guide to Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting during daylight hours, which sees Khan's character Mobeen guide his newly converted friend Trev through his first Ramadan.
In July 2015, Khan gave up his job as a school teacher to pursue a career in comedy after his YouTube clips went viral. In November, he featured in an episode of comedy web series Corner Shop Show. In 2016, he went on to play the rambunctious baggage handler Mo Khan in Borderline.
In December 2017, Khan's four-part BBC comedy series Man Like Mobeen was released on BBC iPlayer. Four more series of the show have been produced, which were released on BBC iPlayer in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2025.
In March 2019, Khan appeared as a guest on Hypothetical.
In 2020, he appeared in Four Weddings And a Funeral, a miniseries created by Mindy Kaling that is a re-imagining of the original film.
In September 2021, Khan appeared on the twelfth series of Taskmaster.
In December 2021, Khan appeared as Bonzo in Beauty and the Beast: A Pantomime for Comic Relief, originally broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 21 December.
In February 2022, Khan narrated the Peaky Blinders Ultimate Recap on BBC One.
In March 2022, Khan appeared in the HBO Max comedy pirate series Our Flag Means Death, where he played Ivan, a member of Blackbeard's crew. Khan was the only main actor dropped ahead of the second season of the show. Responding to the decision, he tweeted: "This is the industry sometimes. They might be choosing a different direction creatively, maybe it's financial decision, maybe they weren't feeling your boy."
In March 2024, Khan appeared in the Netflix show The Gentlemen, where he played Chucky "The Cobra" Kubra, an experienced money launderer.
In March 2026, Khan appeared in the Amazon Prime series Bait, where he places Zulfy.
Commercial endorsements In June 2019, Khan appeared in an advert for Walkers crisps alongside the Spice Girls, playing Dev, the group's biggest fan.
In February 2020, Uber Eats launched a UK-wide brand campaign starring Khan as a charismatic courier spreading positivity.
Film In 2017, Khan appeared as Rocky in the romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah.
In 2019, Khan appeared alongside Idris Elba in the Netflix comedy show Turn Up Charlie which premiered on 15 March 2019.
In 2022, Khan appeared in the main cast of the film The Bubble, playing actor Howie Frangopolous.
In 2024, Khan played the voice of Dasher the reindeer in the Netflix animated film That Christmas which was released on 4 December 2024.
Political views Khan supported Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 UK General Election, encouraging people to vote Labour. He is a supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Personal life Khan is a Muslim. He lives with his wife and three children in the West Midlands. Khan is a supporter of Manchester United F.C.
Filmography Film Year Title Role 2017 Finding Fatimah Rocky 2018 Walk Like a Panther Terry Khan 2021 Army of Thieves Rolph 2022 The Bubble Howard "Howie" Frangopolous 2024 How to Date Billy Walsh Mr. Atkins 2024 That Christmas Dasher (voice) Girl Group
Television Year Title Role Notes2015Corner Shop ShowEpisode: "The Beginning of the End"Half My Faith, All My StruggleHimself2 episodesSky Comedy Christmas ShortsAbidEpisode: "Tez Ilyas' Christmas"2016; 2017Drunk HistoryMarshall Boucicault/ Henry's Manservant 2 episodes 2016–2017 Borderline Mo Khan Recurring cast Zapped Skylark Recurring cast2016 Doctors Guzzy Bear Episode: "Mother's Ruin" BBC Comedy FeedsMobeenEpisode: "Man Like Mobeen", also writerDropperzBig GibEpisode: "Bunny's Bitten It"Halloween Comedy ShortsEpisode: "Guz Khan's Horror: Frightbusters"The Apprentice: You're FiredHimselfEpisode: "Cycling Crowdfunding"2017Celebrity EggheadsHimselfSeries 7, episode 17Life LessonsHimselfEpisode: "The Worst Things About Being a Teacher" Loaded Tech Head Episode: "The Expo" 2017–2025 Man Like Mobeen Mobeen Main role, also creator 2017; 2019Live at the ApolloHimself2 episodes2018Sunday BrunchHimself3 episodes The Chris Ramsey Show Himself Series 2, episode 52019 Curfew Cheese Main cast Turn Up Charlie Del Recurring castThe Tez O'Clock ShowHimself2 episodes Four Weddings and a Funeral Basheer Main cast2019–2022HypotheticalHimself4 episodes2019–2020The Big Narstie ShowHimself2 episodes2019–2021There's Something About MoviesHimself6 episodes2019; 2023A League of Their OwnHimself2 episodes2019; 2022Would I Lie to You?Himself2 episodes2020–2025The Last LegHimself11 episodes2020; 2025The One ShowHimself2 episodes2020The Russell Howard HourHimself14 episodesRussell Howard's Home TimeHimselfEpisode: "Lockdown Life"Joe Lycett's Got Your BackHimselfEpisode: "Guz Khan, Fly Tippers and Recycling Shame"Big Zuu's Big EatsHimselfEpisode: "Guz Khan"Comedy Game NightHimselfMain cast, team captainFrankie Boyle's New World OrderHimselfSeries 4, episode 1Spitting ImageVarious (voice)3 episodesCinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for ChristmasButtonsTV special2021–2022The Adventures of PaddingtonBaz50 episodes2021Alan Davies: As Yet UntitledHimselfEpisode: "The Accuracy of a Pigeon"TaskmasterHimselfMain cast– series 12The RanganationHimselfSeries 4, episode 3The Jonathan Ross ShowHimselfSeason 18, episode 4One Night in...HimselfEpisode: "London Zoo"Beauty and the Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for ChristmasBonzoTV movieThe Big Fat Quiz of the YearHimselfTV special2021; 2023; 2025BBC New Comedy AwardsHimself3 episodes, hosted 2025 final2022Our Flag Means DeathIvanMain castComic Relief: Red Nose DayHimselfTV movieRichard Hammond's Brain ReactionHimselfEpisode 4The Chris & Rosie Ramsey ShowHimselfSeries 1, episode 5Trip HazardHimselfEpisode: "Blackpool"Mel Giedroyc: UnforgivableHimselfSeries 3, episode 4The Unofficial Science of Home AloneHimselfTV special2022; 2024QIHimself3 episodes2022–2023Celebrity GoggleboxHimself3 episodesThe Lateish Show with Mo GilliganHimself2 episodes2022; 2025Blankety BlankHimself2 episodes2023The John Bishop ShowHimselfSeries 2, episode 2Fantasy Football LeagueHimself3 episodesWonders of the World I Can't SeeHimselfEpisode: "Jordan"Rhod Gilbert's Growing PainsHimselfSeries 5, episode 1The Great British Bake Off: An Extra SliceHimselfSeries 10, episode: "Bread Week"OutsidersHimselfMain castMy Super-Rich HolidayHimselfWith Eddie KadiLate Night LycettHimselfEpisode: "Christmas Special"Sports Funniest 2023 with Greg JamesHimselfTV special2023–2024CBeebies Bedtime StoryHimself3 episodes2023; 2025Have I Got News for YouHimself2 episodes2023–presentDigman!Zane Troy (voice)Main cast2024The GentlemenChuckyEpisode: "All Eventualities"The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick TurpinGowEpisode: "Run Wilde"The Weakest LinkHimselfSeries 3, episode 15Battle in the BoxHimselfEpisode: "Guz Khan & Rachel Parris v Amy Gledhill & Josh Pugh"The WheelHimselfSeries 5, episode 720258 Out of 10 Cats Does CountdownHimself3 episodesIain Stirling's Roast the InternetHimselfSeries 1, episode 2Together for PalestineHimselfTV specialStuffedArslan FarooqiTV movie, also executive producer2026Guz Khan’s Custom CarsHostTV seriesBaitZulfiRegular roleCelebrity SabotageHimself1 episodeTBAGuz Does...MMA (W/T)HimselfDocumentary
Accolades Year Award Category Title Result2020Broadcast Digital AwardsBest Comedy ProgrammeMan Like MobeenBritish Academy Television AwardsBest Male Comedy PerformanceMan Like Mobeen2021British Academy Television AwardsBritish Academy Television AwardsScripted Comedy2022Peabody AwardsEntertainmentOur Flag Means Death
References
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