BAIT
From Garry Shandling to Larry David, Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan to John Malkovich, there's always something fascinating about watching actors sending themselves up in movies or TV.
Now we can add Riz Ahmed to the list as he plays a version of himself on the cusp of fame.
'Bait' is a comedy drama about a neurotic London born rapper and actor of Pakistani origin juggling career ambition with a chaotic family life.
At the start of the six part show, Ahmed's Shah Latif is auditioning for the role of James Bond.
Unfortunately the audition in front of Maxine Peake's director Helen doesn't go well.
Hearing the paparazzi are camped outside the front of the building as he is being escorted out the back, Shah makes a shrewd move.
Pretending he's left his phone charger behind, he engineers a departure instead in front of the photographers.
The possibility of producers casting an Asian actor in the role of 007, generates a swell of excitement on social media and gossip websites.
It earns him the respect of his cousin, Guz Khan's Zulfi whose dream is to set up a Muslim version of Uber.
It also excites his mum, Sheena Chaddha's Tahira, even if his sister Aasiyah Shah's Q and dad Sajid Hasan's Parvez are more underwhelmed.
But it also sparks a backlash, with his family receiving a pig's head in a racist incident in their Wembley home.
An appearance at a gala event also raises questions for Shah about whether taking on the fictional role of a British spy would be regarded as a betrayal of his Pakistani heritage.
With his agent Werupe Opia's Felicia scrutinising his every move as word filters out that the Bond producers are keen to audition him again and Shah's ex-girlfriend, Ritu Arya's Yasmin calling his bluff, Shah feels the stress and spirals into madness.
He start having imaginary conversations with the pig's head which he keeps in the family's garage and which has the voice of Patrick Stewart.
What emerges is a witty, vibrant, inventive slightly surreal tale written by Ahmed, Prashanth Venkataramsnujam, Azam Mahmood, Dipika Guha, Karen Joseph Alcock and Ben Karlin.
Performed with real gusto by its cast, it is sharply directed by Bassam Tariq and Tom George and is a bit like an London based 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' fused with 'Mogul Mowgli' - the self knowing 2020 film about an Anglo Asian rapper that Ahmed created with Bassam Tariq and starred in.
Ahmed is always a magnetic presence onscreen and really delivers in spades in a role that lampoons actors' egos and insecurities.
But what also makes 'Bait' so much fun is the strength of its supporting cast who get the best out of its lead actor.
Khan is a wonderful foil for Ahmed as the big talking cousin who has his back, looking after him as a kid when he was being bullied by skinheads.
Chaddha, Shah and Hasan make a delightfully eccentric and believable family unit.
Arya impresses as the ex girlfriend, shining in an episode where Shah and Yasmin end up on a rickshaw in Brick Lane that takes them to a nightclub as they try to trace a bag belonging to her containing her passport.
Opia delivers a vibrant performance that fulfils the promise she showed in 'I May Destroy You'.
Established names also play their part like Peake, Stewart, Rafe Spall pops up as a on top of his game home security expert, Himesh Patel as a rival Asian actor Raj Thakkar and Nabhaan Rizwan as a potential investor in Zulfi's business.
Dazzlingly shot by Frank Lamm and edited by Ant Boys and Gary Doliner, 'Bait' revels in the sights and sounds of multicultural London - mixing Urdu, Arabic, street English and formal received pronunciation English.
It also finds humour in subverting genres - with overblown moments of Bond and Jason Bourne style fantasy and spoofs of the romcom.
A hugely satisfying watch, here's hoping Ahmed and his collaborators give us a follow-up.
('Bait' was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime on the UK and Ireland on March 25, 2026)
NOSTALGIE
Sometimes songs take on life of their own.
Take the Village People's camp disco classic 'YMCA' which was rather improbably adopted by Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
Or D:Ream's dance hit 'Things Can Only Get Better' which became synonymous with the Tony Blair era after the Labour Party's historic General Election victory in 1997.
Then there's Tina Turner's monster hit 'The Best' which was adopted by Glasgow Rangers fans on the Ibrox terraces before it was subsequently seized as an anthem by loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.
None of the songwriters nor the artists who recorded those songs could have imagined how they would be adopted.
Kathryn Ferguson's BAFTA nominated and IFTA winning short 'Nostalgie' takes this idea and really runs with it.
Aidan Gillen plays Drew Lord Haig, a former 1980s English pop star now working in IT, who is surprised to find himself on a ferry to Belfast - a city he's never visited before.
Thrilled by the prospect of being asked to perform in a club, he excited strikes up conversation with Jessica Reynolds' Delphine on the ferry crossing and is intrigued by a city he's heard is fast becoming as hip as Berlin.
Arriving in Belfast, he makes his way to his hotel and gets ready for his unexpected gig before heading to the club where he is warmly greeted by Michael Smiley's Jimmy.
Drew is a little puzzled that an obscure B side track of his called 'Nostalgie' is so popular in Northern Ireland.
Jimmy, however, gushes about it and tells him the audience are really keen to hear it.
When Drew takes to the stage, the audience of mostly middle aged men are rather indifferent to much of his set which plays out against backing trackd.
However the atmosphere suddenly changes when Drew performs 'Nostalgie'.
Intoxicated by the response, Drew is initially flattered when Jimmy insists he sings it again.
Just before he does, Drew learns a shocking back story from Sean Kearns' Marty which explains his audiences affection for the song that really rattles him.
Armed with this new knowledge, can Drew perform 'Nostalgie' again?
Written by Wendy Erskine and Stacey Gregg, 'Nostalgie' is a well made, menacing 19 minute short story that works on a number levels.
On one level, it's a fascinating examination of how artists can sometimes lose control of their art once it has been consumed by the general public.
Drew's naivete also exposes the distance between the reality of life in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK both during and after the conflict.
Northern Irish audiences will immediately pick up on some signals that indicate what kind of scenario the former pop star is heading into which other audiences will not get.
But in doing so, Ferguson and her writers astutely shine a light on the other worldliness of Northern Ireland society and the lingering trauma of the conflict that raged there for 25 years.
Aesthetically, it's wonderfully shot by the twice Oscar nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan, with a gorgeous opening image of Drew on the ferry deck.
Ferguson has provenwhat a good director she is with the Sinead O'Connor documentary 'Nothing Compares' and other factual features and short films.
However 'Nostalgie' showcases her potential as a fiction director and as a calling card, the IFTA winning and BAFTA nominated short makes a compelling case for her undoubted talent to be unleashed on a TV drama or a feature film.
('Nostalgie' premiered at the London International Film Festival on October 17, 2025 and was mafe available for streaming in the UK on February 24, 2026 on the All 4 platform)
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