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Sanjeev Singh Kohli (born 30 November 1971) is a Scottish actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as shopkeeper Navid Harrid in the BBC sitcom Still Game (2002–2007, 2016–2019), Ramesh Majhu in the radio sitcom Fags, Mags and Bags (2007–present), and AJ Jandhu in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City (2015–2022). Since 2019, Kohli has hosted his own television talk show Sanjeev Kohli's Big Talk, on the BBC Scotland channel.
Kohli's parents could afford to move him, aged six, and his brothers to be educated by the Jesuits at St Aloysius' College, a Roman Catholic school in Central Glasgow. To pay for their children's education, Kohli's parents ran a corner shop.
Kohli attended Glasgow University, initially to study Medicine, but changed course to study Mathematics, gaining a first-class degree, and subsequently studied for a PhD.
In December 2006, the Sunday Mail revealed that Kohli would be starring in a major ITV Network thriller, Losing Gemma. Starring alongside Alice Eve, he played "a member of the British High Commission, who helps a young British tourist jailed in Delhi". Kohli revealed in 2007 that he would be working on a radio comedy project for BBC Radio 4, entitled Fags, Mags and Bags. The series was broadcast in 2008 and was nominated for a Sony Award. The Daily Record also revealed Kohli would be writing for ITV children's show, My Life as a Popat. Kohli has also starred in BBC Three's Rush Hour as an intolerant taxicab driver, and on the same channel in Phoo Action as a television news presenter.
On 21 August 2007, he presented a show called 10 Things To Hate About The Edinburgh Festival. Kohli also sometimes appears as a pundit on BBC One Scotland's Saturday afternoon Sportscene football programme. Kohli made a brief cameo in a speaking role as himself in an episode of BBC's VideoGaiden, where he received a fish in the mail as a gift from the hosts in an attempt to recreate the Nintendo game Animal Crossing. One of the hosts was Robert Florence, a writer whom Kohli worked with on Chewin' the Fat.
In February 2008, it was announced that he would play the role of God in the video for Glasgow band Attic Lights single "God".
In 2014, Kohli joined the rest of the cast of Still Game in the comeback live show at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. There were 21 performances of the sold-out show.
Since April 2019, he has hosted Sanjeev Kohli's Big Talk on the BBC Scotland channel.
He has two elder brothers, including Hardeep Singh Kohli.
Career
Kohli starred as Surjit Magoon in Meet the Magoons, co-written by his brother Hardeep, for Channel 4. and has appeared in several episodes of the BBC comedy series Look Around You as Synthesizer Patel. He is a former presenter of the BBC's Asian Network and has previously written for Goodness Gracious Me, The Big Breakfast and Chewin' the Fat, which was also written by future Still Game co-stars, Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill.
Personal life
Kohli lives in Glasgow with his wife, Fiona, and their three children.
Filmography
2002 Comedy Lab Surjit Meet the Magoons Special E4 2002–2007, 2016–2019 Still Game Navid Harrid Series regular BBC One 2004 Look Around You Synthesizer Patel BBC Two 2004–2005 Shoebox Zoo Mr Kasmani Series regular BBC One 2005 Meet the Magoons Surjit Series regular Channel 4 2007 The Peter Serafinowicz Show Various characters Series regular BBC Two 2009 Hope Springs Mo Khan Series regular BBC One 2010 Rab C Nesbitt Mr Khan Guest role BBC Two Angelos Epithemiou's Moving On Gupta Series regular BBC Three 2011 Gary Tank Commander Director Guest role BBC Two The Hour Himself Guest co-presenter (10 episodes) STV 2012 Fresh Meat Dr Minaj Recurring role Channel 4 2013 Bob Servant Norrie Guest role BBC Four Filth Sunil Film The IT Crowd Booth Channel 4 2014 Walter Hardeep Navid Harrid Main cast BBC One 2015 Fried Mike Fagins BBC Three You Me and the Apocalypse Doctor Guest role Sky 1 2015–2022 River City AJ Jandhu Series regular BBC One 2016 Cold Feet Shopkeeper ITV 2018 Stan & Ollie Glasgow Empire Manager Film 2019 Dark Sense Sir Parduman Nagra Film Shooting Clerks Jared Patel Film 2020 Lost at Christmas Sid Film 2022 Magpie Murders Sajid Khan / Dr Kamal Series regular BBC One Little English Ranjeet Film 2023 Stonehouse Prosecuting Counsel ITV 2024 The Madame Blanc Mysteries Sonny Montario Guest role Channel 5 / Acorn TV Dinosaur Sachin BBC comedy BBC Three Sharp Instinct: Volume II Ravi Khossla Film Moonflower Murders Sajid Post-production BBC One 2025 Fight or Flight Pilot Film Dept. Q Martin Fleming Series regular Netflix Bringing in the Bells Himself Presenter STV Gifted Mr Jackson Series regular CBBC Midsomer Murders Saj Solanki Episode: "Death Strikes Three" ITV 2026 The Chief Series regular (series 2) BBC Scotland
External links
Categories: 1971 Births, Living People, Alumni Of The University Of Glasgow, 21st-century British Male Actors, Male Actors From Glasgow, People Educated At St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, People From Bishopbriggs, British People Of Indian Descent, British People Of Punjabi Descent, Scottish Male Comedians, Scottish Male Soap Opera Actors, Scottish Male Television Actors, Scottish Sikhs, Comedians From London, Comedians From Glasgow
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