# Saikat Ahamed

Saikat Ahamed (Bengali: সৈকত আহমেদ) is a British actor and writer based in Bristol. He is best known for his role of Vince Arya in Monday Monday.

## Early life

Ahamed was born in Surrey and grew up in Birmingham, West Midlands, England in the 1980s.
Ahamed attended King Edward's School in Birmingham, and left in 1992. In 1995, he graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from Cardiff University. He then studied acting at the London Centre for Theatre Studies. He was twice Gold champion in Ballroom and Latin American dance.
Ahamed mother's, Hashi, grew up in a war torn Barisal, Bangladesh, trained as a doctor and made her way to the United Kingdom to provide an easier life for her children. His father is general practitioner Ahamed's family moved from Bangladesh in 1972 to the UK, where he was born and has lived since.

## Career

Since 1999, Ahamed has been an actor working on stage, screen and radio. His work on television and film includes, the regular part of Vince Arya in Monday Monday, East Is East and Trollied.
Ahamed's acting work includes A Fine Balance with Tamasha at Hampstead Theatre, a National Tour of Journey to the West with Tara Arts. At Tobacco Factory Theatre, he played Ali Baba in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves as well as the 'step-brother' in Cinderella, both directed by Sally Cookson. He played the roles of James Henry Trotter in James and the Giant Peach at the Polka Theatre, Ben Gunn in Treasure Island at Bristol Old Vic and Tinker Bell in Peter Pan at Bristol Old Vic. He played Puck and as well as helped to puppeteer Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream at Bristol Old Vic, His theatre work also includes shows at The Kennedy Centre as well as stints at Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Leicester Haymarket Theatre and Man Mela.
As a writer, Ahamed has completed a number of plays. In February 2013, he performed his one-man show The Tiger and the Moustache at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol. In 2015, he performed his one-man show Strictly Balti: at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in October and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in November, before embarking on a national tour.
Since 2005, Ahamed has also worked as a professional storyteller, weaving his traditional tales in schools, restaurants, libraries and festivals in Bristol. In 2006, also received the Norman Beaton Fellowship from BBC Radio Drama and has worked regularly for them ever since.
In December 2011, Ahamed's first radio play, Telling Tales, was commissioned and aired on the BBC Asian Network.
In February 2015, Ahamed was interviewed on BBC Somerset. In November and December 2015, he was interviewed by Nadia Ali on BBC Asian Network. In October 2022, he portrayed the role of Nabil Rahim in the BBC soap opera Doctors.

## Personal life

Ahamed lives in Bristol with his wife, Jenny, and two children.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | East Is East | Zaid | Supporting role |
| 2000 | It Was an Accident | Ahmed | Supporting role |
| 2000 | 7/7: Attack on London | Mohammad Sidique Khan | Supporting role |
| 2006 | Halal Harry | Naseem | Supporting role |
| 2011 | This Must Be the Place | Sumit | Supporting role |
| 2012 | Frail | Malik | Supporting role |
| 2019 | Aladdin | Jailer | Supporting role |
| 2021 | A Boy Called Christmas | Moodon | Supporting role |
| 2024 | Mary | Caspar | Supporting role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Being Human | Mortuary Attendant | 1 episode: pilot |
| 2009 | Monday Monday | Vince Arya | Recurring role |
| 2009 | Home Time | Egger | Series 1, episode 2 |
| 2011 | Nuzzle and Scratch: Frock and Roll | Golfer | Episode: "Astronauts" |
| 2012 | Parents | Maths Teacher | Series 1, episode 5 |
| 2012; 2017 | Trollied | Customer, Bloke | Series 2: 6 episodes, series 7: 1 episode |
| 2013 | Common Ground | Pav | Episode: "Nell, Ted & Marlon" |
| 2013 | Wizards vs Aliens | Security Man | Episode: "The Thirteenth Floor" |
| 2016 | Galavant | Valencian Peasant 1 | Episode: "About Last Knight" |
| 2017–2019 | Apple Tree House | Nadeem | Recurring role |
| 2019–2022 | Pennyworth | Mr. Chadley | Recurring role |
| 2022 | Doctors | Nabil Rahim | Episode: "Everyone Has Something" |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2002 | Journey to the West | Art | |
| 2004 | James and the Giant Peach | James Henry Trotter | Polka Theatre |
| 2007 | A Fine Balance | Ishvar | Hampstead Theatre |
| | East Is East | | Oldham Coliseum |
| | Shepherd's Pie Anyone? | | Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| | Gym Buddies | | Soho Theatre |
| 2009 | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Ali Baba | Tobacco Factory Theatre |
| 2010 | Treasure Island | Ben Gunn | Bristol Old Vic, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Young Vic |
| 2011–2013 | Cinderella | Step-brother | Tobacco Factory Theatre |
| 2012 | Peter Pan | Tinker Bell | Bristol Old Vic |
| 2013–2014 | Midsummer Night's Dream | Puck/Snug | Bristol Old Vic, Barbican Centre |
| 2013 | The Tiger and the Moustache | Hashi | Tobacco Factory Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, one-person play Also writer |
| 2012 | The Last Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor | Roy | Tobacco Factory Theatre, part of Travelling Light Theatre Company |
| 2014–2017 | Strictly Balti | Ahamed | The Gilded Balloon, Tobacco Factory Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Southbank Centre, The Oxford Festival of the Arts, one-person play Also writer |
| 2015 | Three Kings | | Writer for Travelling Light Theatre Company |
| 2017 | The Miser | La Fleche | Garrick Theatre |
| 2021 | Hansel and Gretel | | Writer for Insane Root Theatre |
| 2024 | Welcome to Gaza | Reader | Malcolm X Community Centre Bristol |
| 2025 | In Search of Goldoni | | Bristol Old Vic, one-person play Also writer |

### Radio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent | Waiter | BBC Radio 4 Extra political thriller |
| 2007 | Caesar! | Centurion, soldier, driver, Athenasius | BBC Radio 4 classic serial, series 3 |
| 2007 | The Mahabharata | Uttara | BBC Radio 4 classic dramatised, episode: "Exile" |
| 2007 | Venus to Go | | BBC Radio 4 drama |
| 2007 | India and Pakistan '07 | Driver, Hitesh | BBC Radio 4 drama |
| 2007 | Oneira | Courier | BBC Radio 4 Extra sci-fi fantasy drama |
| 2008–2009 | Silver Street | Vinnie Mukherjee | BBC Asian Network soap |
| 2008 | Broken English | Police officer, Transport officer | BBC Radio 4 play |
| 2009 | Degrees of Separation | Doctor, Rishi Hussein | BBC Radio 4, episode 4 "Twins" and 5 "Ashes" |
| 2011 | Telling Tales | Ahmed- the teacher | BBC Asian Network drama Also writer |
| 2015 | Actor Saikat Ahamed and Timsbury Post Office | Himself | BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Somerset with Steve Yabsley |
| 2017 | The Archers | Rachid | BBC Radio 4 soap |