Our Ambassadors are well known British Asian celebrities, sports persons and leaders who represent our work and help raise awareness about the projects we support.  

Nihal Arthanayake

Nihal is one of the most important broadcasters for BBC Radio 1, and one of the most high-profile British Asian broadcasters. He presents the BBC Radio 1 Review Show as well as ‘Nihal’ the award winning Asian/Desi Beats show on BBC Radio 1. He also presents ‘Nihal’ for the BBC Asian Network, a phone-in show that covers topics both political and social for the British Asian audience. This year the show won a prestigious Sony Radio Academy Award for best Speech Programme beating off competition from the World Service, LBC and Radio 4. He also makes many television appearances.

Nihal began promoting rap shows in his native Essex while still doing his A-levels. Since then he has rapped with Fun’Da’Mental, Badmarsh & Shri, Mentor and DJ Sanj. A renowned DJ, he showcases his love of rap - from an Asian perspective - at his monthly club night Bombay Bronx. His DJ skills have taken him to Glastonbury and Bestival in the UK as well as to gigs in Bangladesh, Dubai, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand and America. A music public relations pro, his clients have included Nitin Sawhney, Judge Jules and Elton John. Nihal has written for Asiana, Eastern Eye, Mixmag, The Guardian, The Times and The Observer. He is a member of the British Council Board and served as a cultural ambassador for the successful London 2012 Olympic bid.

Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE

Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British-Asian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ and as host of ‘The Kumars at No. 42′. He also presented and starred in a documentary series called India with Sanjeev Bhaskar where he travelled India and visited his ancestral home in today’s Pakistan. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, Bhaskar was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours List.

Bhaskar, the Kumars and Gareth Gates collectively released the official single for Comic Relief in 2003, which spent 3 weeks at number 1 and was the second highest selling single of the year. Bhaskar, who has been a supporter of the Prince’s Charities for a number of years, was part of the advisory group that conceptualised the British Asian Trust for the Prince of Wales and is proud to now become its ambassador.

James Caan

James Caan is one of the UK’s most successful and dynamic entrepreneurs. He is best known as one of the panellists of the hit BBC2 TV show, ‘Dragons’ Den’.
He originally built businesses in the recruitment industry and has been creating successful ventures ever since. In 2004 he started private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw which now manages a portfolio of over 40 companies.
James Caan has received numerous awards including ‘BT Enterprise of the Year’, PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’  and ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the Asian Jewel Awards. He was voted one of the 100 most influential Asian people in the UK by Asian Power 1000, a list compiled by the Institute of Asian Professionals.

Gurinda Chadha OBE

Gurinder Chadha is one of the UK’s most proven and respected film makers with a successful track record in directing films which are international box office successes. Her most successful films to date include ‘Bend it Like Beckham’, the highest grossing British-financed, British- distributed film, ever in the UK box-office and ‘Bride and Prejudice’ - a film which marries Jane Austen with Indian and Western musicals - the first film ever to open at Number One in the UK and India on the same day.
Gurinder began her career as a BBC news reporter. She went on to direct award-winning documentaries for the British Film Institute, BBC and Channel Four. Her first feature ‘Bhaji on the Beach’ won numerous international awards including a BAFTA Nomination for ‘Best British Film of 1994’ and the Evening Standard British Film Award for ‘Best Newcomer to British Cinema’.
Gurinder has received several Honorary Doctorates from British Universities and was awarded an O.B.E. in the 2006 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to the British Film Industry.

Nitin Ganatra

Nitin Ganatra, who plays the popular role of Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera ‘EastEnders’ is known internationally as Prince Pondicherry in the Tim Burton film ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. He also appeared in the Gurinder Chada’s popular film ‘Bride and Prejudice’ as Kholi Saab and ‘The Mistress of Spices’ as Haroun.
He has appeared in a number of TV shows in the UK and won the ‘Best Onscreen Partnership’ alongside Nina Wadia at the 2009 British Soap Awards.
Nitin was born in Kenya of Indian parentage and moved with his family to the UK when he was four years old. Nitin is married and has two children.

Mishal Husain

Mishal Husain presents BBC1’s ‘News at Ten’ on Sunday evenings, and is a familiar face to viewers around the world as a key presenter on ‘BBC World News’ where she is the host of the flagship ‘Impact Asia’. Her wide ranging talents have also been seen on programmes as diverse as BBC1’s ‘Breakfast’, BBC2’s ‘The Culture Show’, and Radio 4’s ‘Profile’ and ‘You and Yours’.

Mishal forged her international reputation as the first Washington-based presenter for the BBC, fronting news programmes around the time of the Iraq war and developing a keen following among US viewers. She is also known for presenting live on location, including coverage of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Mishal’s three-part documentary series for BBC2 on the life of Mahatma Gandhi aired in October 2009.  She was named by The Times as one of the five most influential Muslim women in Britain.

Preeya Kalidas

Preeya Kalidas made history in 2002 by being the first British Asian to land the original leading role in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, ‘Bombay Dreams’. She also played the leading female role in his hit revival of ‘Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’. Preeya’s other film and TV credits include: ‘Bend It Like Beckham’, ‘East is East’, ‘Bollywood Queen’, ‘Britz’, ‘Bodies’, ‘Mistresses’, ‘Banglatown Banquet’ and ‘Sari and Trainers’.
Preeya is currently a regular on ‘Eastenders’ and is releasing her debut album after being the first Asian female to sign a recording contract with Mercury Records (Universal).

Saira Khan

Saira shot to fame in the first series of the smash hit BBC 2 TV Series ‘The Apprentice’ and has since taken the UK by storm. She is a regular face on BBC television and presents the hit children’s show ‘Beat the Boss’. She has recently been involved in ‘Celebrity Masterchef’, “‘Celebrity Mastermind’ and Children in Need’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. She is MD of her own company Miamoo, a luxury range of skincare products, has witten a self help book called PUSH for Success published by Random House and is an experienced motivational speaker.

Atul Kochhar

The new face of Indian cuisine, acclaimed Michelin star chef Atul Kochhar has earned a global reputation for his innovative dishes, his growing stable of first-class restaurants, his ever-increasing television profile and his celebrated cookbooks.
Atul operates Benares and The Colony in London, Vatika in Wickham, Hampshire; Ananda in Dublin and Sindu for P&O Cruises. After coming to prominence on the BBC series Great British Menu, this inspired chef is a regular on BBC’s ‘Saturday Kitchen’, ITV’s ‘Saturday Cooks’, and UKTV’s ‘Great Food Live’ and ‘Market Kitchen’.
Born in Jamshedpur, India, Atul’s reputation brought him to London in 1994 where he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a coveted Michelin star. He often returns to his homeland to research recipes and spices from all corners of India to create a winning fusion of East and West.
A culinary hero championing Indian food and its evolution on the world food scene, Atul was recently honored with the Triangle Media Group’s Cordon Bleu Award for his educational contribution in bringing South Asian cuisine to the mainstream.

Laila Rouass

Laila Rouass was born in London. Laila studied in Britain but decided to drop her studies and travel around India for a few months. A few months turned into six years after being offered the position of house VJ on popular music channel, Channel V. Whilst living in Bombay, she worked for BBC World and TNT. Her step into movies came when she was spotted by Indian director Aditya Bhattacharya and whisked off to Messina to shoot ‘Senso unico’ (1997). Since then she has starred in a number of movies including ‘The Sandstorm’, ‘Four feathers’ and ‘Shoot on Sight’ to name but a few. Perhaps her most memorable character is Amber Gates in the cult ITV show ‘Footballer’s Wives’. Recently Laila has starred as a lead in ‘Primeval’ and danced her way to the quarter finals in 2009 on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Laila can currently be seen on Channel 4’s ‘TV Book Club’ and joins the cast of ‘Spooks’ in the next series.

Laila was knighted by the King of Morocco in Delhi in 2001.

Nina Wadia

Nina Wadia first came to prominence in the BBC sketch show “Goodness Gracious Me” playing characters such as Mrs “I can make it at home for nothing!” and one half of “The Competitive Mothers”. She took over from her “Goodness Gracious Me” co-star, Meera Syal, in the role of Rupinder in the sitcom “All About Me”. In 2007, Wadia was cast as Zainab Masood in the long running BBC soap opera “EastEnders.” Nina Wadia has won ‘Best Comedy Performance’ at the 2009 British Soap Awards. In 2004 she won the Chairman’s Award at the Asian Women Awards. She is married and has two children.

Wadia was involved in the Pakistan Earthquake Appeal Concert and Fashion Show, at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005. She has also been involved in campaigning for Save the Children and for increased organ donation from Asians in Britain and now joins The British Asian Trust as an ambassador.