EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is still firming up its plans for this Christmas (which includes an adaptation of The Thirteenth Tale for BBC Two and the recently announced Death Comes To Pemberley for BBC One), but it seems that everyone’s favourite “community leader” will make an appearance this festive season. I’ve learned that BBC One has commissioned a Christmas special for its popular, though controversial, comedy series Citizen Khan.
The BBC has yet to officially confirm this, but insiders tell me that they had long planned having a Citizen Khan Christmas Special and it was for that reason that when the series was re-commissioned back in September 2012 the BBC announced a seven episode order; with one accounting for the special and the remaining being a standard six episode run. Production on the show’s second season and the Christmas Special is set to commence in the coming weeks, with Citizen Khan expected to return to BBC One in September.
Created by Adil Ray, Citizen Khan is set in the capital of British Pakistan – Sparkhill, Birmingham. It follows the trials and tribulations of self-appointed Muslim community leader Mr Khan and his long suffering family. Khan is a larger than life character, a small man with big dreams and strident opinions. Things would be so much easier if everyone just listened to him and followed his lead, but his obsessively house-proud wife and two feisty daughters have other ideas. The comedy series is produced by BBC In-house Comedy and stars Adil Ray as Mr Khan, Shobu Kapoor as Mrs Khan, Maya Sondhi as Shazia Khan and Bhavna Limbachia as Alia Khan. BBC One renewed the series for a second run after the series consistently won it’s time-slot, averaging almost 3 million viewers per episode.
