Akbar is a familiar face across UK television and radio, with appearances on Celebrity Mastermind, Just A Minute, The Now Show, Celebrity Masterchef, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Comedy Central Live, The Big Asian Stand Up Night, The Last Leg, and numerous other programmes. He recently featured in the latest BBC Two series of Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales, and previously voiced Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid and Narendra Modi on Spitting Image.
Alongside his broadcast work, Akbar has fronted several successful podcasts, including But Where Are You Really From? for BBC Sounds, Panic Room for Audible, and the European award-winning business podcast Nine Twenty Nine. He also hosted a Saturday afternoon show on the BBC Asian Network and Newsjack Unplugged on Radio 4 Extra.
A regular on the live circuit, Akbar toured the UK in 2023 with The Pretender and has delivered three Edinburgh Fringe shows, each followed by sold-out runs at London’s Soho Theatre. He has supported leading comedians, including Micky Flanagan, with nine sold-out O2 Arena dates, alongside Akaash Singh, Sindhu Vee, Kae Kurd, Adam Rowe, Dan Nightingale, Hal Cruttenden and others.
Before moving into comedy, Akbar worked at Barclays Wealth and Merton Council, and holds a Master’s degree in Global Governance and Public Policy, as well as an undergraduate degree in Economics, Finance and Management. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Times, The Huffington Post, Happiful and other publications.
The ACR News Awards will once again recognise excellence across the air conditioning and refrigeration sector, with Akbar set to bring energy, insight and humour to the evening’s proceedings.