Nick Abbot (Psychology 1982)
Nick Abbot is an author and radio presenter who, after featuring on 91影视Radio, has gone on to present on numerous stations for the past 20 years, including Radio Luxembourg, Virgin Radio, TalkSport, Smooth FM, Planet Rock and LBC.
Hajaz Akram (Modern Drama Studies 2000)
Principal and founder of the Academy of Asian and Ethnic Dramatic Arts, Hajaz Akram has trained and worked as an actor, teacher and director for over 20 years. He has appeared in numerous television dramas including Doctor Who, Murder in Mind and Casualty, and is also the voice of DJ Panjit Gavaskar in Grand Theft Auto. He has had film roles in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Batman Begins. Hajaz is also the co-founder of the charity, Shout At Cancer.
Carl Barât (Drama 1996)
Carl Barât is a musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, has recorded a solo album and created a band called The Jackals, but is best known for being the co-front man with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.
Adam Benzine (Multimedia, Technology and Design 2003)
Adam is a filmmaker and journalist. He received widespread acclaim, which included an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category, for his debut documentary for HBO about French film maker Claude Lanzmann. Titled Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Adam's film tells the story of Lanzmann's own seminal documentary about the Holocaust. Adam has written for a variety of newspapers including The Globe, The Mail and The Independent. He currently serves as the Canadian Bureau Chief for British news publisher C21 Media, and has previously served as Associate Editor for Canadian non-fiction news publisher Realscreen.
Jo Brand (Social Sciences 1982)
Jo Brand is a BAFTA winning comedian, writer, and actress. Commencing her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on Saturday Live, she went on to appear on The Brain Drain, Channel 4's Jo Brand Through the Cakehole, Getting On and various television appearances including as a regular guest on QI. In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2012 she was awarded Best Female TV Comic at the British Comedy Awards. More recently, Jo has presented The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, has co-written and starred in a comedy pilot for Sky Arts called Damned, and in 2017, presented the Channel 5 series Jo Brand's Cats & Kittens. In 2018, Jo was the presenter of Britain’s Best Junior Doctors.
Hardy Caprio (Business & Management, Accounting 2017)
Hardy Caprio is a UK rap artist / R&B singer who has been earmarked by music critics as one to watch after setting his own tone in the UK grime, rap and garage scene. He is one of the UK's most promising talents - not only has he released multiple critically acclaimed records, he's got over a million monthly listeners on Spotify, has performed at the 2018 Wireless Festival, and his One Acen collaboration 'Unsigned' has surpassed 23 million streams on Spotify alone.
Michael Dapaah (Theatre, Film & Television Studies 2014)
Michael Dapaah is an actor, rapper, and comedian best known for portraying the fictional rapper - Big Shaq - and his comedic rap "Man's Not Hot", which has had almost 300 million views on YouTube to date. He is also known for his mockumentary series on YouTube - SWIL (Somewhere in London) - which focuses on four characters and their journey to success and gained over 1 million views in its first series. In 2018, Michael won the title of ‘Personality of the Year’ at the GRM Daily Rated Awards which celebrate the UK grime scene.
Greg Davies (Drama and English 1990)
Greg Davies is a stand-up comedian and actor best known for his roles as Greg in We Are Klang and Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners. He is a regular guest on TV comedy panel shows including Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You?, QI, Have I Got News for You and Fast and Loose. He has also performed on the Live at the Apollo series. Greg appeared in the BBC Three show Cuckoo, earning him a BAFTA nomination for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. He is also the host of comedy show Taskmaster as well as the writer and star of the critically applauded Channel 4 sitcom Man Down.
Rita Ekwere - aka Ray BLK (English 2015)
Rita Ekwere - better known under her stage name of Ray BLK - is a singer and songwriter who won the BBC's Sound of 2017; and was the first unsigned artist to do so. Having released her debut mini-album, Durt in 2016 - featuring collaborations with Stormzy and Wretch 32 - she went on to sign with the UK branch of Island Records in 2018. As well as a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 2016 MOBO Awards, she was also featured on the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Francis French (PGCE 1997)
Francis French is an educator, speaker and author specialising in space flight history. He is a former Director of Events for Sally Ride Science, and is currently the Director of Education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Francis has made numberous appearances as a space expert on TV, including the Discovery Channel, History Channel and the Science Channel. In 2010, Francis was inducted into the US Space & Rocket Center's Space Camp Hall of Fame for his contributions to space history, science and technology.
Patricia Hodge (Education)
Patricia Hodge is an actress. She won the 2000 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the play Money at the Royal National Theatre. She has had countless TV roles, including in Rumpole of the Bailey, as well as starring in many West End productions. Most recently she starred in the BBC TV series, Miranda and Downton Abbey. Patricia is the joint President of Grimsby's Caxton Theatre.
Sharon Horgan (BA American Studies and English 2000)
Sharon Horgan is an actress, writer, director and producer best known for the comedy series’ Pulling, Catastrophe (both of which she co-wrote), Motherland and most recently, Divorce on HBO. Sharon has won a British Comedy Award for Best TV Actress and Best Comedy Drama for Pulling. She is also seven-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, and winner of the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Writer for Catastrophe (with Rob Delaney). Sharon was also nominated for the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Catastrophe. In addition to her television work, Sharon has also starred in the films Valiant (2005), Imagine Me & You (2005), Man Up (2015), and Game Night (2018).
Damson Idris (Drama with Film & Television Studies 2013)
Damson Idris is an actor and producer. He stars on John Singleton's crime drama Snowfall, which debuted in 2017 on FX and also plays the co-lead in Netflix's 2021 sci-fi action film Outside the Wire. In 2017, Damson won the Emerging Talent Awar at the 12th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards in London. In 2019 he won the Award for Best Actor in a British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival for his portrayal in the film, Farming.
Alizeh Imtiaz (English and Film and Television Studies 2008)
Alizeh Imtiaz is the first Pakistani to have successfully had her debut short film Shades of Black screened at the London Filmmakers Convention 2007. Her short film also won the award for Best Film at the London Filmmakers Convention which screened 80 films from all around the world. Alizeh has served as a trustee on the board of DSRA Schools for the underprivileged.
Jax Jones (Finance and Accounting 2008)
Jax Jones is a DJ, record producer, songwriter and remixer. His current work has included 2018 singles "Ring Ring" with Mabel ft. Rich The Kid and "Breathe" ft. Ina Wroldsen. He is also known for his 2016 single "You Don't Know Me" featuring Raye, which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, "Instruction" featuring Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don and featuring on Duke Dumont's 2014 single "I Got U", peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart. He also has co-written, produced and remixed for the likes of The Vamps, Tinie Tempah, Paloma Faith, Missy Elliott, Years & Years, Charli XCX and Ellie Goulding.
Bryony Kimmings (Modern Drama Studies 2003)
Bryony Kimmings is a live artist, comedian, writer and activist for provoking social change. Her award winning work has toured across the world. She also mentors artists, teaches workshops, writes a popular arts blog, speaks on panels and appears on TV, most recently on the Channel 4 hit series, Artist in Residence.
Lee Mack (Drama with Film and Television Studies 1996)
Lee McKillop is a stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the UK for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast. Lee is also known for hosting the Sky1 panel show Duck Quacks Don't Echo and for presenting the show They Think It's All Over. He has won the British Comedy Award for Best Male Television Comic in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Ken MacLeod (Mechanical Engineering 1988)
Ken MacLeod is an award-winning science fiction author. His novels have won the Prometheus Award and the BSFA award (including Best Novel for ‘The Night Sessions’), and have been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. He was close friends with the late Iain Banks with whom contributed to the British boom in science fiction in the 1990s. His omnibus book - The Corporation Wars Trilogy - will be released in December 2018.
Sophie McShera (Modern Drama Studies 2006)
Sophie McShera is an actress known for her roles as Ros McCain in the fifth series of the BBC television series Waterloo Road, as Daisy Mason in the ITV television series Downton Abbey, and as Drizella Tremaine in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella. Sophie has most recently appeared in the television series' Murdered for Being Different and Timewasters.
Oreke Mosheshe (Management Studies 2003)
Oreke Mosheshe is an actress, TV presenter, blogger and model. She has appeared in BBC, ITV and Channel 4 productions, TV adverts, and has modelled for Matthew Williamson, Vivienne Westwood and Armani. She was the face of T-Mobile Web 'n' Walk campaign and has starred in the international Star Beer campaign.
Archie Panjabi (Business Management Studies 1996)
Archie Panjabi is an actress who shot to fame as Pinky in the movie Bend it Like Beckham. Amongst her many acting credits, She is best known for her role as Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife, earning her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2010). She has also received a number of nominations including two more in the Emmy Awards, plus Golden Globe and Screen Actors’ Guild nominations. Archie is a activie philanthropist, and amongst her work in this area, was appointed as the first Pratham USA Ambassador, representing the largest educational movement in India. in 2018, Archie became one of the first guest editors of National Geographic to celebrate 130 years of the Magazine.
Claire Phillips (Mechanical Engineering 1986)
Claire Phillips is a portrait artist. Her works tell stories about the subjects, encouraging the viewer to consider social and political themes. She is particularly well known for her portraits of prisoners on death row and children rescued from slave labour, for which she has received wide media coverage.
Ross Ramgobin (BA Drama and English 2007)
Ross Ramgobin is an operatic baritone who has performed in Carnegie Hall (New York), The Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House (London), Chicago Symphony Hall and the Wigmore Hall (London). Current engagements include The Protector Written On Skin with the Melos Sinfonia, Demetrius A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Israeli Opera, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro for English Touring Opera, Schaunard La bohème for the 2018 Dorset Opera Festival, The Dream of Gerontius in Truro Cathedral and Fauré Requiem at the Hexham Festival. He sings The Counsel for the Plaintiff Trial by Jury at the 2018 BBC Proms and makes his debut at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2020. Ross was the winner of the 91影视Alumnus of the Year Award in 2012.
Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono (Documentary Practice 2008)
Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono is a Zimbabwean journalist. Hopewell has won numerous awards in journalism and has worked in both print and broadcasting and worked with the BBC World Service as a freelance producer. For his documentary, Pain in my Heart, he won the 2008 CNN African Journalist of the Year award, 2008 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Award and the Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Reporting in Africa. In 2008 the Zimbabwean government banned him from covering its disputed election because of his zeal to get to the truth and report it without favour. Hopewell has won numerous awards in journalism and has worked in both print and broadcasting journalism.
Liesel Schwarz (Creative Writing 2011)
Liesel Schwarz is a published ficton author, whose trilogy The Chronicles of Light and Shadow was commissioned and partly written at Brunel. Her work is highly regarded in the genre and she was tipped by The Independent as the next “high priestess of Steampunk”.
Bindya Solanki (Drama and Religious Studies 1995)
Bindya Solanki made her television debut in the ITV children's programme My Parents Are Aliens. She went on to have roles in the BBC drama Sweet Revenge and Sky One's Dream Team. She is best known for playing the role of Nita Mistry in EastEnders from 2001-2003 and has also starred in BBC Asian Network’s Silver Street, as Mindy. Bindya has also appeared in many stage productions, including playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the English Shakespeare Company.
Alex Straker (English and Film and Television Studies 2010)
Alex Straker is a writer and journalist. He is part of the Soho Theatre Young Writer’s programme and in 2013 took part in the Second Light Industry Mentoring Scheme. He was also part of the writing school for the online series EASTENDERS: E20. Alex regularly contributes to the Independent Online as an Arts Blogger. Alex's writing credits currently include Eastenders and Holby City. He was included in the ‘BBC New Talent Hotlist 2017’ as an emerging new talent of the future.
Cathy Tyson (Drama and English 2013)
Cathy Tyson is a stage, film and television actress. Her film debut in ‘Mona Lisa’ in 1986 won her the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and nominations for an Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Acting credits have included the drama series Band of Gold, in addition to Grange Hill and Emmerdale. Cathy is one of the Honorary Patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard and has founded theatre production company, Pitch Lake Productions.
Lucy Verasamy (Geography and Earth Sciences 2001)
Having completed a work placement at the Sky Weather Centre, Lucy Verasamy became the regular weather presenter on the Sky News breakfast show Sunrise. In 2007 the Sky News website started a feature entitled Climate Clinic - Ask Lucy as part of their Green Britain campaign. She also contributed to Sky News The Weather Girls blog. In 2010 she joined ITV Breakfast programme Daybreak, as a weather forecaster and environment correspondent, and went on to front national ITV Weather forecasts. As of 2017, Lucy was part of the ITV Racing team as a weather expert and also joined Good Morning Britain as a relief weather presenter.
Lee Walpole (Film and Television Studies 2001)
Lee Walpole is an award-winning Supervising Sound Editor whose work includes Les Miserables, The Imitation Game and The King’s Speech. He has won an Emmy, a BAFTA, a Satellite and a Golden Reel Award, along with multiple nominations.
John Watts (Psychology 1978)
John Watts is a musician and multimedia artist who started the rock band Fischer-Z in 1976 with fellow alumnus, Steve Skolnik while at Brunel. He is now a solo artist and his new project, entitled World Go Round, is a multimedia combination of a play entitled The Last Picasso, an album called World Go Round and poetry book called The Grand National Lobotomy.