Ace Bhatti
British actor
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Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti is a British actor. Early in his career, he appeared in the BBC series Cardiac Arrest (1994–1995), Holding On (1997), NCS: Manhunt (2001–2002), and New Street Law (2006–2007), as well as the ITV series Cold Blood (2005–2008). He had a recurring role in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures (2008–2011) and played Yusef Khan in the soap opera EastEnders (2010–2011).
Ace Bhatti | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ahsen Rafiq Bhatti Nottingham, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Notable work | The Sarah Jane Adventures, Cold Blood, EastEnders |
Early life and education
Bhatti was born in Nottingham. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Career
Bhatti began acting at age fourteen starring in the children series Dramarama, however it wasn't until the nineties until he furthered his career, for which he appeared in the British soap opera Family Pride, Band of Gold, Holding On, and most notably as Dr Rajesh Rajah in Cardiac Arrest, among many other television roles during this time. In 2002, Bhatti made a brief appearance in Bend It Like Beckham, played the central character Dave in BBC Three's dark comedy Grease Monkeys (2003), and played flashy Ash Aslan in 2006's New Street Law. In 2007, he took on a minor role for two episodes in the first series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl as Ashok, a regular client of the main character, Belle. He reappeared in 2010 in the same role. In 2008, Bhatti appeared as a supporting character in the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and reprised his role for the third series in 2009, the fourth series in 2010 and in the fifth series in 2011. Although credited in his early career by his birth name Ahsen Bhatti, Bhatti changed his professional name to Ace Bhatti (Ace is a childhood nickname). In 2011, he played Commander Khokar in the BBC2 series The Shadow Line.
In April 2013, Bhatti became a patron of Theatre Royal Wakefield. In 2018, he played Freddie Mercury's father Bomi Bulsara in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
EastEnders
In 2010, Bhatti was cast as Yusef Khan, the father of already established character Afia Masood (Meryl Fernandes). Bhatti was already known to EastEnders executive producer Bryan Kirkwood when he auditioned for the part, as Kirkwood and Bhatti worked on Coronation Street at the same time. Bhatti was the only actor who auditioned for the part of Yusef.[1] In fact, Wadia recommended Bhatti to Kirkwood to play Yusef, as she "thought that he definitely had the quality that Yusef would need—which is a very ambiguous but charming quality!"[2] Bhatti explained to Digital Spy that the EastEnders cast are very welcoming. He explained: "They're so welcoming. There's a lot of joking about. I'm having a great time at EastEnders - it's a real privilege to be here. I've known Nitin and Nina Wadia, who plays Zainab, for a very long time and we've always got on very well. Nitin and I play tense scenes together so it's nice that we can have a laugh afterwards."[3] He featured in a domestic violence storyline in late 2011 with co-star Nina Wadia who plays Yusef's wife Zainab. Yusef starts to abuse Zainab both physically and mentally. He forbids Zainab to leave the house and later starts using her son, Kamil, to control her. Wadia explains that she wants the storyline to have a positive impact against real-life violence. She told BBC News: "I think the idea behind showing a strong woman like Zainab changing like this is to show that it can happen to even the strongest of women. They can change and they can be manipulated - especially if they're isolated from their friends and family. The manipulator can take advantage, so it's to prove that it can even happen to people like her. To be honest, if even one woman rings that Action Line at the end of the show and there's some difference made to her life, I'll feel like we've done our job," she continued. "It is a serious issue and I'm glad it's being highlighted. I hope that it wakes anyone up - not just women, I know that there are abused men out there as well. So if it gives anyone the strength to leave a relationship like that, we'll have done our job."[4] The scenes where Yusef refused to let Zainab see Kamil pulled in 8.69m viewers at 7.30pm. BBC Three's repeat of the episode later secured 994k viewers at 10pm.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Brothers in Trouble | Irshad | |
| 1997 | Sixth Happiness | Cyrus | |
| 2002 | Bend It Like Beckham | Nairobi Grandson | |
| 2004 | The Secret of Year Six | Abdul | Short film |
| 2009 | Wish 143 | Consultant | Short film |
| 2010 | It's a Wonderful Afterlife | Tej | |
| My Lad | Aziz | Short film | |
| 2015 | Amar Akbar & Tony | Doctor Kumar | |
| 2018 | The Academy | Rayner | Short film |
| Free Dance | Ravi | aka High Strung Free Dance | |
| Bohemian Rhapsody | Bomi Bulsara | ||
| 2019 | Break Clause | Kadir | |
| 2022 | We've Only Just Begun | Goldie | Short film |
| 2023 | Runs in the Family | Varun Chetty | |
| TBA | Blueberry Inn | Alfred | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Dramarama | Eddie | Episode 2.8: "Josephine Jo" |
| 1991–1992 | Family Pride | Suresh | Unknown episodes |
| 1993 | The Bill | Rajik Patel | Episode 9.44: "Bedfellows" |
| 1994 | Finney | McDade's Minder | 4 episodes |
| 1994–1996 | Cardiac Arrest | Dr. Rajesh Rajah | Series 1–3; 27 episodes |
| 1995 | The Ghostbusters of East Finchley | DI Cunliffe | 2 episodes |
| The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye | Indian Lieutenant | Television film | |
| 1995–1996 | Band of Gold | Dez | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | The Bill | Salman Malik | Series 13; 2 episodes: "Shades of Grey: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Holding On | Zahid | Mini-series; 8 episodes | |
| 1998 | Verdict | Sanjay Mehta, QC | Episode 1.3: "The Doctor's Opinion" |
| 1999 | Cleopatra | Sceptical Citizen | Mini-series; 2 episodes |
| Grafters | Tom | Series 2; 5 episodes | |
| Last Christmas | Doctor | Television film | |
| 2000 | Peak Practice | Specialist | Episode 9.6: "Once Too Often" |
| Harbour Lights | Ramesh | Episode 2.5: "Storm Damage" | |
| Silent Witness | DCI Ranjeet Naval | Series 5; 2 episodes: "The World Cruise: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| Urban Gothic | Jim Takeshi | Episode 1.4: "Sum of the Parts" | |
| 2001 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Ravi Ghataura | Episode 6.2: "Home Truths" |
| Love or Money | Ali | Television film | |
| 2001-2002 | NCS: Manhunt | DC Johnny Khan | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | Holby City | Nick Woods | Episode 4.41: "From This Moment On" |
| 2003 | The Second Coming | Peter Gupta | Mini-series; 2 episodes |
| Emmerdale | Bobby Khan | 2 episodes | |
| 2003–2004 | Grease Monkeys | Dave Dhillon | Series 1 & 2; 20 episodes |
| 2004 | The Deputy | Nickhall Gangwani | Television film |
| Bodies | Rajesh Rajah | 2 episodes | |
| 2004–2006 | Coronation Street | Jayesh Parekh | 12 episodes |
| 2005 | Ultimate Force | Handsome | Episode 3.3: "Class of 1980" |
| Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee | Deepak | Mini-series; 3 episodes | |
| Holby City | Andy Fishman | Recurring role; 3 episodes | |
| 2005–2008 | Cold Blood | DC Ajay Roychowdury | Series 1 & 2; 5 episodes |
| 2006 | Bradford Riots | Faisal | Television film |
| Blue Murder | Saadiq Aziz | Episode 3.3: "The Spartacus Thing" | |
| Goldplated | Haq | 4 episodes | |
| 2006–2007 | New Street Law | Ash Aslan | Series 1 & 2; 10 episodes |
| 2007 | Casualty | Andy Fishman | Episode 22.3: "Meltdown" |
| Frankenstein | Dr. Dhillon | Television film | |
| 2007–2008 | Secret Diary of a Call Girl | Ashok | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Kiss of Death | Miles Trueman | Television film |
| The Bill | Sunil Davdra | Series 24; 2 episodes | |
| 2008–2011 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Haresh Chandra | Series 2–5; 24 episodes |
| 2009 | Casualty | Rafiq | Episode 23.29: "Shields" |
| New Tricks | Geeten Mistry | Episode 6.3: "Fresh Starts" | |
| Coming Up | Shahid | Episode 7.1: "Adha Cup" | |
| The Fixer | Supari | Episode 2.6 | |
| Spooks | Amish Mani | Episode 8.1 | |
| 2010–2011 | EastEnders | Dr. Yusef Khan | 95 episodes |
| 2011 | The Shadow Line | Commander Khokar | 4 episodes |
| A Dangerous Place to Meet My Family | Himself - Narrator | Television film | |
| 2012 | Midsomer Murders | Harry Dutta | Episode 15.3: "Written in the Stars" |
| 2013 | The Last Witch | Doctor | Television film |
| 2014 | Silent Witness | Mousa Rashid | Series 17; 2 episodes: "Commodity: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Silk | Dani Kakwani | Episode 3.4: "Mother Country" | |
| From There to Here | DI Graves | Mini-series; 2 episodes | |
| Lewis | Rizwan Nooran | Series 8; 2 episodes: "Entry Wounds: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| 2014, 2016 | In the Club | Vinay | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Father Brown | Syrus | Episode 3.8: "The Lair of the Libertines" |
| Black Work | DCI Jahan Kapoor | Mini-series; 3 episodes | |
| Jekyll and Hyde | Dr. Vishal Najaran | Mini-series; 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | Shetland | Calvin Sarwar | Series 3; 3 episodes |
| Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands | Harken | 4 episodes | |
| DCI Banks | Malik Nadir | Series 5; 4 episodes | |
| 2017 | Revolting | Various characters | 3 episodes |
| Vera | Stuart Mayfield | Episode 7.2: "Dark Angel" | |
| Versailles | Sultan of Bijapur | Episode 2.6: "The Sands of Time" | |
| Three Girls | Nazir Afzal | Mini-series; 2 episodes | |
| Still Star-Crossed | Venetian Moneylender | Episode 1.2: "The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth" | |
| Love, Lies and Records | Mr. Hussain | Episode 1.6 | |
| My Pure Land | – | Associate producer | |
| 2018 | Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Chester Patterson | Episode 1.4: "This Rough Magic" |
| No Offence | Mayor Kashif Hassan | Series 3; 3 episodes | |
| Hounslow Diaries | Uncle Abdul Azeez | Episode 1.1: "Pilot" | |
| Civilisations | Himself - Presenter | Episode 1.2: "Art and the Sea" | |
| 2019 | The Feed | Dr. Adu | Episode 1.4 |
| 2019–2021 | Line of Duty | PCC Rohan Sindwhani | Series 5 & 6; 8 episodes |
| 2020 | The Stranger | Parth Kuhalam | Mini-series; 2 episodes |
| 2020–2024 | Alex Rider | John Crawley | Series 1–3; 21 episodes |
| 2021 | Baptiste | Nadeem | Series 2; 6 episodes |
| 2022 | Agatha Raisin | Karim Khan | Episode 4.4: "There Goes the Bride" |
| The Good Karma Hospital | Jules Fonseca | Series 4; 2 episodes | |
| Sherwood | Vinay Chakarabati | Episode 1.2 | |
| Ackley Bridge | Imran Farooqi | Episode 5.6 | |
| 2023 | Midsomer Murders | Richard 'Dickie' Dent | Episode 23.4: "Dressed to Kill" |
| The Effects of Lying | Naveen | Television film | |
| The Couple Next Door | DC Collins | Episode 1.6: "Crimes of Passion" | |
| 2024 | Finders Keepers | Adil Kumar | Mini-series; episode 2 |
| McDonald & Dodds | George Sharma | Episode 4.1: "The Rule of Three" | |
| Protection | DCI Arun Kapoor | Mini-series; 5 episodes | |
| 2025 | Malpractice | Mr. Arun Mansoor | Series 2; 5 episodes |
| The Hack | Rahul Shah | Mini-series; episode 6 | |
| 2026 | Death in Paradise | Alasdair Hartnell | Episode 15.2 |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role (voice) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dark Souls III: The Ringed City | White-faced Locust |