Geo News benchmark of 'success', say three mainstream British media personalities

LONDON: Three mainstream British media personalities have said that being covered by Geo News is seen as a benchmark of success and achievement in British Asian and British Pakistani communities.

The remarks were made on a BBC platform hosted by leading presenter and showbiz journalist Haroon Rashid, who said the Geo News theme tune is “elite”.

He was speaking with acclaimed British artists Riz Ahmed and Guz Khan about Bait, a Bond-inspired comedy. Written by and starring Riz Ahmed, the Prime Video comedy centres on a British-Pakistani actor who lands an audition to become the next James Bond.

Haroon Rashid said that a real marker of success is “when your family is watching Geo News, and you happen to appear on screen”.

He recalled how one of his interviews, a few years ago, with Pakistani actress Meera, went viral after being featured on Geo News. The BBC journalist revealed that it was the “one time my nana (grandfather) was genuinely impressed by what I do. It was seeing me on Geo News that did it”.

Haroon Rashid then asked Riz Ahmed what the benchmark of success was for him when it came to family.

Riz Ahmed, the Oscar-winning actor, said: “For me, it is probably a mixture of Geo News and The One Show. I was on The One Show yesterday. I called my mum and said, ‘Mum, I did The One Show.’ She said, ‘You did what?’ Then she asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I thought, oh no. My problem now is that I need to get clips from The One Show before I get home, or I am going to get a proper telling-off.

“Honestly, the one or two times I have been featured on Geo News, that is when the phone calls start coming in, and the family WhatsApp groups begin popping off.”

Haroon Rashid then praised the Geo News theme music, saying it is the dramatic soundtrack that really elevates everything. “It makes everything sound far more impressive,” he said.

Guz Khan agreed, saying that perhaps what they all needed in life was Geo News-style theme music. “What you are saying is that all three of us need a theme tune, isn’t it?”

Riz Ahmed is a British actor and rapper who has received several major honours, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, Time named him one of the most influential people in the world. His parents moved to England from Karachi, Pakistan, in the 1970s.

Guz Khan, whose full name is Ghulam Dustagir Khan, was born in Coventry, West Midlands, to Pakistani immigrant parents who moved to the United Kingdom in the 1980s. He is a British comedian and actor whose television appearances include Man Like Mobeen, Taskmaster (series 12), Our Flag Means Death (season one), and stand-up performances on Live at the Apollo. He regularly appears on the BBC and other mainstream platforms.

Bait follows Riz Ahmed’s character, Shah Latif, as he auditions for the role of Bond. When news leaks that he is in the running to play the iconic spy, the show traces Latif’s journey as the lines between real life and acting begin to blur. Guz Khan plays Zulfi, Latif’s cousin, who helps him through his struggles. The co-stars spoke with Haroon Rashid about the series, its impact on the South Asian diaspora, and broader questions of identity and belonging.