Mawaan Rizwan

• Name — Mawaan Rizwan • Born — 18 August 1992 • Birthplace — Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan • Citizenship — United Kingdom • Occupation — * Actor • comedian • director • screenwriter • Years Active — 2008–present • Website — mawaan.co.uk • Relatives — Nabhaan Rizwan (brother)

Rizwan was born in Lahore, Pakistan; his mother, Shahnaz, was one of nine siblings and had starred in a number of black and white Pakistani films. As his mother desired a better life for Mawaan and his sister, they emigrated to London in 1994. Six years later, at the age of eight, Rizwan and his family were threatened with deportation, but were granted indefinite leave to remain after legal battles and protests for the family's immigration rights.

Rizwan started making YouTube videos at the age of 16. The attention he received for these resulted in him gaining roles on various television and streaming programming. In 2013 he began starring in the BAFTA award nominated series DNN: Definitely Not Newsround, a spoof news comedy series for children. In 2015 he starred in Disney XD UK series Mega Awesome Super Hacks alongside Oli White and Jimmy Hill. In 2015, Rizwan travelled to Pakistan, his country of birth, to film the documentary How Gay Is Pakistan? which explores the issues faced by other LGBTQ Muslims living under Islamic law that deems homosexuality illegal. The documentary was televised internationally, including on ABC2 in Australia, CBC in Canada and in various markets via Amazon Prime Video. Rizwan's career in stand-up comedy began in 2010 when he performed his first gig at a basement venue in Leicester Square. He trained at the prestigious École Philippe Gaulier, physicality and silliness being key components of his comedic craft. He performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with his 2018 and 2019 performances gaining positive reviews from critics. In 2018, Rizwan participated in a charity benefit event called Choose Laughs? at the Playhouse Theatre to support the NGO Help Refugees. In April 2019, Rizwan released his first two singles – "I've Got a New Walk" and "Mango" – with a third single, "Never Been Skiing", released in September. In 2020, Rizwan starred in the Sky One comedy series Two Weeks to Live. Forbes named Rizwan one of their '30 under 30' movers for their 2020 list, after recognition for being a writer on Netflix series Sex Education as well as his role in BBC Three drama Murdered by My Father and opening for Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness on tour. In September 2020 he appeared in Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club as co-host. Also in 2020, he appeared in the 10th series of Taskmaster, finishing 3rd. In 2021, Rizwan was appointed as Young Person's Comedy Laureate by the BBC as well as head judge of BBC New Comedy Award. In 2022, he appeared on Channel 4's 40th Anniversary special of Saturday Live (retitled as Friday Night Live), performing his song "Are You Checking Me Out Or Are You Just A Racist?" The song was later released as a single across music streaming platforms, with an official music video released in December the same year, featuring Nabhaan Rizwan, his "more famous brother" referred to in the lyrics. In September 2023, Juice was released – a BBC Three surreal comedy series which Rizwan starred in, wrote, and co-produced. The series is based upon Rizwan's 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name. Rizwan's mother and brother also appeared in Juice as the family of Rizwan's character, Jamma. On its release The Guardian commented that "His [Mawaan's] childlike way of exploring life's complexities has won him legions of fans". A second series was released in 2025. In March 2024, Rizwan appeared on Comic Relief on BBC Two, performing a country version of "Are You Checking Me Out Or Are You Just A Racist?". In April and May 2026, Rizwan appeared at Royal Shakespeare Company playing The Barker / Giri in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht in a new version by Stephen Sharkey, alongside Mark Gatiss in the title role and directed by Seán Linnen at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. In winter 2027, Rizwan will play Guildenstern opposite George Fouracres in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Lyttleton Theatre at the Royal National Theatre, directed by Robert Hastie.

Rizwan is gay, having come out to his traditional Muslim parents at the age of 24. In 2012, he appeared alongside his mother, Shahnaz, in a YouTube video which resulted in his mother gaining the attention of Bollywood and eventually landing a role in the Indian television series Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (This Is Love). Mawaan's brother, Nabhaan, also followed the family into a career in acting with his debut in BBC drama series Informer.

• Year — Title — Role — Network — Notes • 2013 — DNN: Definitely Not Newsround — Jahmene Mann — CBBC — 13 episodes • Project: Library — Jason — YouTube — 4 episodes • 2014–2016 — The Dog Ate My Homework — Himself — CBBC — 2 episodes • 2015 — Mega Awesome Super Hacks — Himself — Disney XD UK — (6 episodes) • How Gay Is Pakistan? — Himself — BBC Three — Documentary • 2016 — The Break — Actor — Netflix — Tying the Knot (1 episode) • Murdered by My Father — Imi — BBC Three — TV movie • Getting High For God — Himself — BBC Three — 2-Part Documentary • 2017 — Loaded — Duncan — Channel 4 — (1 episode) • five by five — Alex — BBC Three — mini-series (2 episodes) • Vera — Jamil — ITV — Natural Selection (1 episode) • 2018 — Next of Kin — Omar Shirani — ITV — mini-series (6 episodes) • The Big Asian Stand-Up — Himself — BBC Two — (1 episode) • 2019 — Live at the Apollo — Himself — BBC One — (1 episode) • Harry Hill's Clubnite — Himself — Channel 4 — (1 episode) • The One Show — Himself — BBC One — (1 episode) • 2020 — Taskmaster — Himself — Channel 4 — Series 10 • Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club — Himself — ITV — (5 episodes) • Two Weeks to Live — | Nicky — Sky One — (6 episodes) • 2021 — BBC New Comedy Award — Himself — BBC Three — Head judge of the competition • 2022 — The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer — Himself — Channel 4 — Series 5; episode 5 • The Big Fat Quiz of Everything — Himself — Channel 4 — 2022 special • Friday Night Live — Himself — Channel 4 — Channel 4's 40th anniversary special of Saturday Live • 2023 — Doctor Who — Mr Castavillian — BBC One — Mini-episode: "Destination: Skaro" • 2023–2025 — Juice — Jamal "Jamma" Jamshidi — BBC Three — (12 episodes) • 2024 — Comic Relief — Himself — BBC Two • 2027 — Hercule — TBA — BBC One — Upcoming six-part series

• Year — Title — Network — Notes • 2011 — Jimmy Will Play — Short film • 2014 — Swashbuckle — CBeebies — (3 episodes) • 2016 — Spot Bots — CBeebies — (7 episodes) • 2017–19 — Apple Tree House — CBeebies — (4 episodes) • 2020–21 — Sex Education — Netflix — (2 episodes) • 2023–present — Juice — BBC Three — (12 episodes)

• Year — Title — Role — Venue — Notes • 2024 — ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) — Performer — Royal Court Theatre — Performed on 24 July as a member of the rolling cast • The Rocky Horror Show — The Narrator — Dominion Theatre — Performed on 6-20 September • 2025 — Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright — Guest star — Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent — One night only - 15 November evening • 2026 — The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui — The Barker / Giri — Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon • 2027 — Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead — Guildenstern — Lyttleton Theatre, Royal National Theatre

• Released in 2019: • "I've Got a New Walk" • "Mango" • "Never Been Skiing" • Released in 2022: • Are you Checking Me out or Are you Just a Racist? • Released in 2024: • Are you Checking Me out or Are you Just a Racist? (Country Version) - Live from the Palladium