Press clippings

John Cleese to play Father Christmas

John Cleese is to play Santa in Father Christmas Is Back a new festive comedy film which also stars Nathalie Cox, Elizabeth Hurley and Kelsey Grammer.

British Comedy Guide, 15th September 2020

Sky Comedy Shorts 2018 launched

Alex Brooker, Jonny Pelham, Kris Marshall, Lee Ridley, Samson Kayo, Sindhu Vee and Susan Wokoma star in Sky's 2018 Comedy Shorts.

British Comedy Guide, 24th September 2018

The mockumentary set in "Northend Airport" returns. Once again, we find border control officer Proctor (Jackie Clune) and co muddling through in a generally incompetent manner. Things brighten up in the first of this double bill when Kris Marshall makes an appearance as a minor royal who likes "duty free - although of course I never pay tax on anything", but otherwise the laughs are thinly distributed.

Jonathan Wright, The Guardian, 26th October 2017

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is joint favourite to be Dr Who

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose inky black sitcom Fleabag traumatised audiences last year, has since Monday seen her odds tumble from 20/1 to 2/1, after she had a few hefty sums of cash dropped on her at the beginning of the week. Her new odds put her neck and neck with Kris Marshall, once the star of a BT ad campaign, a man who is tall, bashful and totally fits the mould.

Tom Mendelsohn, ShortList, 29th March 2017

Ben Miller quits BBC drama Death In Paradise

Ben Miller has quit BBC1's hit drama Death In Paradise. He'll be replaced by Kris Marshall.

Leigh Holmwood, The Sun, 10th April 2013

There are several problems with this show, chief amongst them being what on Earth I can say which hasn't been said already in the past week.

For those who have not seen this show, the series revolves around a British-Pakistani family from Sparkhill, Birmingham. The head of the family, Mr Khan (Adil Ray, who also co-writes the series), a pompous community leader trying to control his family in his own way as well as the local Muslim population. Part of his problems comes from the new Mosque manager, a British-born convert called Dave (Kris Marshall).

Following the broadcast of this first episode, it seems that just about no-one likes it. There are reports of at least 700 people complaining to the BBC claiming the show is guilty of racist stereotyping. Meanwhile the critics have been attacking the series for being old fashioned.

Speaking as someone who knows very little about the Muslim community (I even learnt a little bit about Islam during this opening episode) I am not in position to say if it's racist or not. However, I can give an opinion on how funny or unfunny it is. Given that it's a studio sitcom with a live audience it's no surprise the critics don't like it. Having watched it, the thing that sprung to mind was trying to compare it with similar shows. With his pompous, domineering nature to me Mr Khan shares similar traits to Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping up Appearances, which was one of my favourite comedies as a child.

However, some of the gags were just so predictable. When you saw him in the Mosque with a microphone who just knew he was going to say (on indeed sing) something stupid into it, unaware that he was broadcasting from a minaret.

In the end it'll come down to the public vote, so to speak, and Citizen Khan will probably be axed. It's for the best, really...

Ian Wolf, Giggle Beats, 3rd September 2012

A new family-based sitcom starring Adil Ray as self-appointed community leader Mr Khan, previously a character in Radio 4's Down The Line and its underappreciated television offshoot Bellamy's People. This opener sees Khan struggle to keep face after forgetting to book the venue for his daughter's upcoming wedding, leading to conflict with well-meaning mosque manager Dave (Kris Marshall). Despite the occasional laboured gag, it's an affable enough debut, deserving a wider audience than this post-watershed slot is likely to attract.

Mark Jones, The Guardian, 26th August 2012

This good-natured new comedy, the UK's first ever Muslim sitcom, is set in the capital of British Pakistan, Sparkhill in Birmingham. It follows self-appointed community leader Mr Khan - played and created by Adil Ray, the character has already appeared on Radio 4's Down the Line and its TV incarnation Bellamy's People. First up, one of Mr Khan's feisty daughters is about to get married and his wife's on the warpath because he has forgotten to book a venue. Can he call in a favour from mosque manager Dave (Kris Marshall)?

Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 24th August 2012

My Family's Kris Marshall marries girlfriend

My Family star Kris Marshall has married his long-time girlfriend.

Paul Millar, Digital Spy, 9th February 2012

BT axe Kris Marshall from popular advert campaign

Kris Marshall - the frustrated husband in more than 40 BT adverts over the last seven years - has been axed from the campaign. The 38-year-old actor is instantly recognisable as the face of BT and has also appeared in BBC sitcom My Family and romantic comedy Love Actually.

Simon Boyle, Daily Record, 24th December 2011

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