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Shahid Iqbal Khan is an Offies-finalist and Olivier-nominated playwright published by Methuen Drama. He has been part of BBC Writersroom and Write To Play. His recent stage plays are Stardust (Belgrade Theatre) and 10 Nights (Bush Theatre). His radio work includes Bhavika, Night of the Living Flatpacks (both on community channels) and Brandlesholme (Sheltering) (BBC Radio 4). Shahid Iqbal Khan is on attachment and under co-commission to Graeae and Royal Court Theatre for the year of 2022. He has been commissioned to write a play. As part of his attachment, he is running discussions about disability and dramaturgy at the Royal Court, and mentoring writers at Graeae.

A little insight into what you can expect on the show, the takeaways and who it's for! Trust me, no matter what your interest, I can guarantee there is something for everyone! :)

I speak to dynamic power couple Natalie and Hamza about their journeys from Acting to Writing/Directing, dismantling South Asian stereotypes and embracing the mess of who we are as people. Natalie Perera is British actor and writer. She trained in Classical Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Natalie has written four short films, two of which have been award-winning, Arts Council-funded and selected for a BAFTA-qualifying festival. She has also written a feature film and is currently co-writing a sitcom. As an actor, Natalie played a major supporting role in Swiss-German feature, Der Koch and featured as the lead in hit Caribbean musical, Bazodee. Natalie has gone on to study Clowning and has featured in online comedies from Jack & Dean and Hot Pepper. Natalie co-created Sketchy Ones with an aim to play a range of bold, messy South Asian female characters - something rarely seen on British TV. Hamza Jeetooa is British actor, writer and filmmaker who trained in Screen Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. He has played leading and supporting roles in TV shows including Zomboat!, Luther and Doctor Who. Hamza was nominated for an EE ACTA award for Best Actor for his leading role in BBC iPlayer romcom, My Jihad. As a filmmaker, he has been a part of producing and directing award-winning, Arts Council-funded and BAFTA-longlisted short films. Hamza’s love of performing began in secondary school where he would watch Goodness Gracious Me and then tirelessly reenact characters for his friends the next day.

Naz Ahmed has a wealth of editorial experience in soap and continuing drama roles having worked across script and story on Doctors, Eastenders and Coronation Street as well as producing/directing BBC radio drama for a number of years. She also created and script edited several issue-led specials around the subjects of Homelessness and Mental Health Awareness for Doctors during her tenure on the show, as well as stepping up as Producer of the ‘Bollywood Marriage proposal’ that won ‘Scene of the Year’ at the British Soap Awards in 2018. Naz also fought off fierce competition to win the ‘Services to Media Award’ at the British Muslim Awards, in recognition of her vast work around diversity in storytelling and script editing for the BBC. We discuss the journey so far, the challenges she has faced as well as whether or not representation for artists has diversified over the years.

Afshan d’souza-lodhi was born in Dubai and bred in Manchester. She is a writer of scripts and poetry and was recently commissioned to write and direct a short film for Channel 4 (An Act of Terror) and a radio play for BBC Sounds (Chop Chop). Afshan is currently a Sky Writes writer-in-residence for Rotherham, a partnership between Sky Studios and New Writing North. She is also currently developing a TV series with Sky Studios. Afshan has edited many anthologies and has an essay featured in Picador's collection by Muslim women called Its Not About The Burqa. Her debut poetry collection ‘re:desire’ (Burning Eye Books) has been longlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2021).Her most recent play,Santi & Naz, described as “tender yet sharply political” by The Guardian, won the Vault Outstanding New Work Award in 2020.

Anthony Vander is an award winning Filmmaker and producer. In 2017 and 2018 Anthony was nominated by the Chairwoman of Media Com UK as a top ten creative trailblazer for Black History Month. Anthony's work was featured during We Are Parable and British Film Institute 'WHO WE ARE' season in July 2020 which shined a light at Black British filmmakers in the UK. Anthony is a BFI x BAFTA Crew 2021 filmmaker. His first short film ‘Hooligan’ screened at The Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival in 2012. In 2014, Anthony’s directorial debut feature film, 'Sweetboy' had its North American première at the American Black Film Festival and in 2017 aired on London Live television multiple times. His second short film 'Spar' screened at festivals including S.O.U.L Connect and The Miami Independent Film Festival.

Gurmit launched Impress in 2009, a video production company producing and directing adverts for online companies. Through BGP Ltd Gurmit produced & directed his first short film ‘7 Reasons Why’ which was selected for Cannes Film Festival ‘Short film corner’ in 2013. In early 2017 Gurmit released a documentary ‘Attract Any Woman Anywhere’ released for Amazon Prime. It also secured distribution in Poland, Berlin, Finland and Sky Italy. Gurmit has relentlessly bought his visions to life on a number of projects. Planning is key where all aspects of the production are drafted by him providing a solid foundation for collaborations with all creatives involved. ‘The team have to believe in you first, and then in your vision in order for it to come to life.'

On this season's finale, I host Vipul Bhesania, who is the host of the Know Your Legacy podcast, author of ‘Searching in Silence’ and seeker of truth. His words stir emotion to reach people on a deeper level. We talk about his poetry, how we conquer ourselves and commit to self growth and why gratitude is key.

Stefanie Sword Williams is the founder and author of F*ck Being Humble. She set up the platform to encourage individuals to be unapologetically proud of their achievements and overcome the fear of self-promotion. Named as Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe, she has delivered workshops for global brands including Unilever, Warner Music, Google, ASOS, Microsoft, The Guardian and for conferences such as Cannes Lions Festival and D&AD. In 2020 Stef released her first book ‘F*ck Being Humble: Why self-promotion isn't a dirty word.'

Adeeba Aqeel is a Self-Care & Personal Development Blogger and Motivational Speaker. Her purpose is to help people embrace who they are, to be more confident and pursue their passions. As well as living their best life, through spreading positivity. Blog: www.adeebaaqeel.online

Harshh was born & raised in Mumbai, India. He played professional football for junior clubs in India and internationally for clubs like AC Milan junior team & Leicester City Junior in England. He was at the peak of his performance as an athlete when a sudden knee deformity compelled him to stop playing. The deformity required an immediate surgery. He was encouraged to attend the Shaolin Temple as a Warrior Monk (in China) and he studied the 3 principles of Shaolin Culture in Mandarin. After serving the temple for 4.5years & mastering the art form, he decided to come back home to revive Bodhidharma’s teachings in India & spread the Shaolin Culture through Warrior Monk Academy.

James was selected for the Channel 4 Screenwriting Scheme and was a finalist on "Coming Up". Since then he has developed projects with Ridley Scott's Scott Free, Addictive Pictures, ITV Studios and Channel 4, and is currently writing a feature film with Screen Scotland's Scottish Film Talent Network. In September 2019, he won the BAFTA/Rocliffe New Writing Competition for his family script, THE MINISTRY OF UMBRELLAS

Geeta Sidhu-Robb is an author, inspirational speaker, CEO and Founder of Nosh Detox.  Her frequent appearance on Radio and National TV has given her a strong media profile as an expert on Natural Health Solutions.  Geeta gave up her career as a corporate lawyer to set up her own business, Nosh Detox in 2008, after her son’s severe food allergies, eczema, asthma and anaphylaxis as a baby led her to retrain as a Raw Chef and functional nutritionist.

Nadine Kaadan is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator from Syria now living in London. She is published in several countries and languages and her mission is to champion empowered and inclusive representation in children’s books so that every child can see themselves in a story.

Joey Kidney is a YouTube sensation, mental health advocate, and author of his new book titled What’s The Rush? Joey has built a 6-year-old brand based on his endless knowledge of mental health, personal battles with anxiety and his ability to look at his life objectively through the camera. He began like most YouTube creators, focusing on typical videos, “challenge collaborations” and relationships. Almost two years ago, he pivoted toward mental health and found the success he was looking for in the world of content creation. Joey recently partnered with WE Day, Telus, McDonald’s, Crocs, and other legacy brands that allow him to explore the U.S. and Canada as he grows a sustainable mental health brand called “Stay You” that features a clothing line, live events, and a lifestyle brand. He calls Ottawa home as his channel has surpassed 750,000 subscribers and tens of millions of views.

Tomfoolery is a spoken word poet, performer and filmmaker, born in New Zealand and brought up in London. He launched his YouTube platform on 22 March 2020 and, just five weeks later, uploaded a performance of ‘TheGreatRealisation’,featuring a cameo from his seven-year-old brother. The video has since been viewed over 60 million. He currently resides in London.

Llewellyn Cornell Radford II was born in Bartow, FL to Llewellyn Cornell Radford Sr and Alexis Celeste Carter. He is the oldest of 7 children and was raised in Newport News, VA. He attended Hampton University initially as an electrical engineering major then switched to marketing. During his time in college, he started modeling which led to an interest in acting. His first acting job was on the movie The Box (2009) as Special Ops number 9. He fell in love with acting, then moved to Chicago in 2008 and took his first acting classes. Llewellyn loves acting and making his dreams come true, his mantra is “Dream On Dreamers”, which simply means the dream is infinite, never stop dreaming, and make your dreams a reality. It is also the title of his Book of Inspiration, which he wrote to inspire others with this belief. With the book he also became a motivational speaker, speaking at events around the US, inspiring young and old. As he says: “Dream On, Don’t Stop.”

I speak to Natsune Oki, Japanese author of a book called "The game of self domination" out now on Amazon! She also host of Life Education TV, as well as start- up owner of Foreignconnect.org. We discuss the importance of perseverance and resilience, as well as the important life framework in the book, attacking your weaknesses and dominating yourself!

Dylan Mohan Gray is a globally-acclaimed Indian and Canadian filmmaker. His documentary feature film Fire in the Blood, premiered in competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to enjoy the longest theatrical run of any non-fiction film in Indian cinema history (five weeks). Of Dylan's filmmaking, critics have said “Dylan Mohan Gray has made cinematic provocation something of a signature" (The Dallas Morning News) and that "Gray's images are exquisite and unsparing... artful in nearly every frame, perhaps so we don’t avert our eyes” (The Village Voice & LA Weekly). We talk movies, the journey, and growing up with big dreams but wanting to tell provocative and engaging stories

Keisha Bloise, MS is a Scientist and the Creator behind, "The Love Scientist." Her brand is an empowerment community to elevate the collective to illuminate our inner light to love harder and vibe higher. The Love Scientist was birthed through lessons Keisha learned when faced with adversity. On her self-love journey, she realized she had to focus on inner work and healing, in order to break toxic cycles and patterns she learned along her path. Her mission is to inspire others to regain their power, rediscover and walk in their truth. Keisha shares messages of empowerment and her experiences to instigate love and excellence for a greater tomorrow.