Ridley's George Bukhari on stereotypes, colour-blind casting and the need for "complex" South Asian stories

Thankfully, things have changed. Drama schools and casting panels today are much more diverse, and there’s now a greater focus on ensuring talent isn’t overlooked because of background or ethnicity. That shift has been powerful to witness.

Looking back on my career so far, I feel proud – not just of the roles I’ve played, but of the ones I’ve turned down.

Time and again, I was offered parts that fell into lazy stereotypes: terrorists, shopkeepers, criminals, or immigrants. I made a conscious decision not to compromise myself by accepting roles that mocked or reduced the culture that raised me and shaped who I am.

Even in comedy, the humour often came at the expense of identity – and I wasn’t willing to sell mine short.

My turning point came with Ordinary Lies, where I played "Fat Jason". The role was originally written for a white actor, but thanks to the forward-thinking approach of Nicola Shindler – who, at the time, was leading at Red Productions – I was cast through colour-blind casting. It was the first time I was able to portray a character with real emotional depth and vulnerability.

Even more significantly, in Ridley, I finally had the chance to play a senior police officer – a welcome shift from the criminal stereotypes I’d often been offered. That casting felt like a true reflection of the society we live in, and the direction we need to keep moving in.

When I booked that role, I spoke with the producers and we agreed to shape the character as a mixed-heritage officer, so that he could more accurately reflect me. As an actor, it’s always about the given circumstances and being able to relate to the character truthfully. We renamed him Darren Lakan (formerly Darren Benton), which felt more authentic to the story we wanted to tell.

That choice wasn't made in a vacuum. When I first got into acting, I remember sneaking out of my room after my parents had gone to bed, switching on the TV with the volume muted, and being completely captivated by the faces on the screen, particularly those in black-and-white wartime films.

But there were never any Asian faces. Not in those, and rarely even in British dramas back in the ’90s and early 2000s. Seeing someone who looked like me on screen was almost unheard of, apart from perhaps Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) on Corrie or the central family in 1999's East Is East.

Television has come a long way, and that progress is worth celebrating. But there’s still more to be done. There is a wealth of emerging South Asian talent out there waiting for opportunities, but they’re often overlooked in favour of the same few familiar faces.

We need to open the doors wider and allow new talent to break through to allow us to showcase our craft on a deeper level. Not just with bit parts, but with stories and characters that are complex, layered, and central to the narrative.

We need more representation not just in casting, but within the heart of our households – on screen, in writers’ rooms, and in positions of creative power. Only then can we fully reflect the world we live in.

Ridley returns to ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 10th August 2025.

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