Unforgotten star Sanjeev Bhaskar: "Every day should be be Mother's Day"
The actor and comedian on the importance of family and joking with the King.
Image credit: Getty Images
The actor and comedian on the importance of family and joking with the King.
Sanjeev Bhaskar is back on screens with the ITV drama Unforgotten.
The 61-year-old actor, also known for the BBC comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as the star of the sitcom The Kumars at No. 42.
In January he and his wife Meera Syal celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary with their son and his step-step daughter.
He spoke to Saga Magazine about his family, acting and being an ambassador for the King’s Trust. You can read the full interview in our March print edition or on our app.
"One of the issues dealt with in this series is immigration. Attitudes in the UK have changed since I was growing up, particularly over the last 20 years.
"It's been weaponised in a way it wasn't when I was much younger, and the complexities around it are greater."
"My first role was to go to Belfast in place of the then Prince Charles to represent him by giving a speech. When I stood up, I cleared my throat and addressed the audience using my best Prince Charles voice, and they all laughed.
"A few weeks later I received a letter from him thanking me and adding, ‘I hear you do an impression of me and when we meet next, I shall be checking it for its verisimilitude’.
"It was a word I had to look up. I wasn’t quite sure what would happen. I thought I might be deported!
"Years later, I was invited to an event at Buckingham Palace, and I told him what an honour it was to be there.
"I reminded him I was an ambassador for his trust, and made a joke about how it was founded by ‘the artist formerly known as Prince’, which he absolutely loved."
"Family is all important to me. It’s Mother’s Day this month, so we will go and visit my mum, who is the nicest person I’ve ever met. Anything that is good about me has come from her.
"To a certain extent, every day should be Mother’s Day."
The new series of Unforgotten is available on ITVX.
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