# Ace Bhatti
**Ace Bhatti** (born Ahsen Rafiq Bhatti, 1969) is a British film and television actor from [Nottingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/nottingham), known for playing Dr. Rajesh Rajah in *Cardiac Arrest*, Haresh Chandra in *The Sarah Jane Adventures*, and the villainous Dr. Yusef Khan in *EastEnders*.[1](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/ace-bhatti.html) • [2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) His screen career spans more than 30 years, from a children's series appearance at age fourteen to recent leading roles in *Protection* and *The Effects of Lying*.[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/ace-bhatti-on-the-effects-of-lying-we-asians-have-the-same-problems-as-the-british/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ahsen Rafiq Bhatti; "Ace" is a childhood nickname adopted professionally because of garbled pronunciations of his first name[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html) |
| Born | Nottingham, England, 1969; one database gives 1970[1](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/ace-bhatti.html) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti) |
| Training | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti) |
| First TV appearance | A 1984 episode of *Dramarama*, aged fourteen[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html) |
| Signature TV roles | Dr. Rajesh Rajah in *Cardiac Arrest* (27 episodes); Haresh Chandra in *The Sarah Jane Adventures* (24 episodes); Dr. Yusef Khan in *EastEnders* (210 episodes listed)[2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) |
| Film work | *Bend It Like Beckham* (2002); *Bohemian Rhapsody* (2018) as Bomi Bulsara, Freddie Mercury's father[2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) |
| Recent lead roles | DCI Arun Kapoor in *Protection* (2024); Naveen in *The Effects of Lying* (2023)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti) • [3](https://www.easterneye.biz/ace-bhatti-on-the-effects-of-lying-we-asians-have-the-same-problems-as-the-british/) |
## Early life and training
Bhatti grew up in Sneinton, Nottingham, where his father worked as a bus driver and his mother packed soap into boxes, calling herself a hygienist. In a 2011 interview he said that when he announced he wanted to act, about 99.9 percent of people laughed in his face; his cousin Saj encouraged him to go for it.[6](https://leftlion.co.uk/features/2011/02/ace-bhatti-actor-interview-eastenders-emmerdale-bend-it-like-beckham-coronation-street-bohemian-rhapsody/)
He made his first television appearance in a 1984 episode of the ITV children's series *Dramarama*, aged fourteen, and subsequently trained at the [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art).[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti) His first professional credit came on the short-lived soap opera *Family Pride* in 1991.[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html)
## Television career
**1990s breakthrough.** Bhatti won a starring role in the BBC medical drama *Cardiac Arrest*, playing Dr. Rajesh Rajah across 27 episodes between 1994 and 1996, credited at the time as Ahsen Bhatti.[2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) • [7](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/ace_bhatti/) Through the decade he appeared in *Band of Gold* (as Dez, 5 episodes), *Holding On* (as Zahid, 8 episodes), *Grafters*, and *The Grimleys*.[2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) • [7](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/ace_bhatti/)
**2000s character work.** After 2000 he took significant parts in *NCS: Manhunt*, the [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three) dark comedy *Grease Monkeys* (as Dave Dhillon, 20 episodes), and the legal drama *New Street Law* (as Ash Aslan, 10 episodes), with a recurring role on *Coronation Street* as Jayesh Parekh.[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html) • [2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) His film appearances in this period included a small role in [Gurinder Chadha](https://www.edgepedia.org/gurinder-chadha)'s *Bend It Like Beckham* (2002).[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html)
**The Sarah Jane Adventures and EastEnders.** In 2008 Bhatti joined the *Doctor Who* spin-off *The Sarah Jane Adventures* as Haresh Chandra, a role he reprised across series three, four, and five through 2011, totaling 24 episodes.[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html) • [2](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095) In 2010 he became a regular on *EastEnders* as Dr. Yusef Khan, the father of Afia Masood; his 2011 storyline made the character the perpetrator of domestic abuse against his wife Zainab, played by [Nina Wadia](https://www.edgepedia.org/nina-wadia).[1](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/ace-bhatti.html) In the 2011 interview he described being recognized as "Dr. Khan" in a gym after only four episodes had aired, and said the volume of work on soaps, under heavy time pressure, left him staggered by their quality.[6](https://leftlion.co.uk/features/2011/02/ace-bhatti-actor-interview-eastenders-emmerdale-bend-it-like-beckham-coronation-street-bohemian-rhapsody/)
**Later television.** His subsequent credits include Commander Khokar in the [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) miniseries *The Shadow Line* (2011), alongside [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://www.edgepedia.org/chiwetel-ejiofor); PCC Rohan Sindwhani in *Line of Duty*; Nadeem in *Baptiste*; Vinay Chakrabarti in *Sherwood* (2022); and John Crawley in *[Alex Rider](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-rider-tv-series)*, a starring role across 21 episodes.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ace-bhatti/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti) In 2024 he starred as DCI Arun Kapoor in five episodes of *Protection*.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti)
## Film work
Beyond *Bend It Like Beckham*, Bhatti's film roles include Tej in *It's a Wonderful Afterlife* (2010), Doctor Kumar in *Amar Akbar & Tony* (2015), and Bomi Bulsara, the father of [Freddie Mercury](https://www.edgepedia.org/freddie-mercury), in the 2018 biographical film *Bohemian Rhapsody*.[7](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/ace_bhatti/) In *The Effects of Lying* (2023), a comedy-farce directed by Isher Sahota, he played Naveen, a husband and father whose life unravels over a single day as decades of family secrets surface. Bhatti said the film was a drama that happens to be about an Asian family rather than specifically an Asian story, and praised the producers for having the courage to make a film about a British brown family that might previously have been "put on a shelf and forgotten about".[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/ace-bhatti-on-the-effects-of-lying-we-asians-have-the-same-problems-as-the-british/) He also played Varun in the South African film *Runs in the Family*, shot in and around [Cape Town](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-town).[9](https://indigenousfilm.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RUNS-IN-THE-FAMILY-PRODUCTION-NOTES-AMENDED-21-APRIL-1.pdf)
## Representation and recognition
Over a career of more than 30 years, Bhatti has spoken about the conditions facing south Asian actors when he began. He recalled that in the 1970s and 1980s a prominent actor openly told him that "P***s can't act", and said he feels "joyous" about the work of the younger generation of Asian British actors.[3](https://www.easterneye.biz/ace-bhatti-on-the-effects-of-lying-we-asians-have-the-same-problems-as-the-british/)
## Name
Early in his career Bhatti was credited under his birth name, Ahsen Bhatti, but increasingly chose to be credited as Ace Bhatti, a childhood nickname adopted in response to frequently garbled pronunciations of his real first name.[4](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html)
## References
1. [Ace Bhatti – Age, Bio, Family, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/ace-bhatti.html)
2. [Ace Bhatti, GayMovieDB](https://gaymoviedb.com/person/208095)
3. [Ace Bhatti on The Effects of Lying: We Asians have the same problems as the British, Eastern Eye (2023)](https://www.easterneye.biz/ace-bhatti-on-the-effects-of-lying-we-asians-have-the-same-problems-as-the-british/)
4. [Ace Bhatti – A Brief History Of Time (Travel)](https://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/bio/ace-bhatti.html)
5. [Ace Bhatti, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/100453/ace-bhatti)
6. [Interview: Ace Bhatti, LeftLion (2011)](https://leftlion.co.uk/features/2011/02/ace-bhatti-actor-interview-eastenders-emmerdale-bend-it-like-beckham-coronation-street-bohemian-rhapsody/)
7. [Ace Bhatti, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/ace_bhatti/)
8. [Ace Bhatti, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ace-bhatti/)
9. [Runs in the Family – Production Notes](https://indigenousfilm.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RUNS-IN-THE-FAMILY-PRODUCTION-NOTES-AMENDED-21-APRIL-1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Be to B*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license