Bradford's Tahir Shah appears in new BBC drama Better

Tahir Shah features in a scene where he speaks with Better’s lead star – crooked cop Lou Slack (Leila Farzad) – after she faces off with youths in Hyde Park, Leeds.

Parts of Better were filmed at the University of Bradford, as well as on Bingley Bypass.

Shah – who admits to being a late bloomer and falling into the industry by accident – said: “Normally when people talk about Bradford, it’s negative – so it’s great to see something positive on TV.

“The industry needs to stop focusing on London. That takes opportunities away from the north.

“Things like Six Triple Eight being filmed in Little Germany is amazing, it shows the great locations we have.

“Hundreds of people are involved in these productions, they stay and spend their money here – so it helps the local economy, too.”

Tahir Shah alongside Leila Farzad in BBC's Better (Image: BBC)

Shah, who works for Bradford Council in his day job, explained how he got his foot in the door back in 2017.

“I had a friend in the University of Bradford’s media department. They were creating a resource where an actor would talk about the university on camera,” he said.

“The guy supposed to do it was ill, so my friend asked if I could fill in. ‘You only have to read off a teleprompter’, he told me.

“I made a lot of contacts, and soon after I got a part in a BBC Four project.”

The project in question was The Believers Are But Brothers, by Bradford writer Javaad Alipoor, which explored both neo-Nazi and Islamist radicalisation.

Shah has since appeared in The Responder and Alma’s Not Normal, amongst other series, and recently filmed a project for Netflix.

Shah in BBC sitcom Alma's Not Normal (Image: BBC)

But Shah, of Afghan and Pakistani descent, said his journey has been hard.

“Growing up, these opportunities weren’t there for me,” he said.

“It’s generally about how you look, not your ability. A good actor who doesn’t look the part is unlikely to get the role, which is unfair.

“There’s also a lot of nepotism, and it’s an industry of rejections.”

He still hopes that more from Bradford can make it, however.

“Don’t let where you’re from stop you,” he said.

“If more of us from up North make it, the industry might realise they need to create more opportunities here.

“Hopefully they’ll also realise that underrepresented groups can play just as good a role a white actor can.”