Quick Facts
Biography
Ali Shahalom (Bengali: আলী শাহআলম; born 15 October 1992), also known by his stage name Ali Official, is an English comedian and television presenter of Bangladeshi descent.
Early life
Shahalom was born in Devon, England. He studied Drama and Theatre at GCSE and A-level. In 2011, he moved to London to study Marketing Communications at the University of Westminster. He then went on to work as a Digital Marketing Assistant for Warner Bros.
Career
Since April 2011, Shahalom and his younger brother, Shaheen (born 2001), host their own channel on YouTube called Aliofficial1 with comedy sketches. Their comedy videos often relate back to their Bengali heritage and culture, and have subsequently attracted a large South-Asian following.
In July 2013, Shahalom appeared on Channel 4's Ramadan Diaries. In 2014, he featured in two episodes of comedy web series Corner Shop Show. Since May of the same year, he has hosted The Variety Show on Channel S, broadcast live every fortnight on Saturday at 8.30 pm. InJuly 2015, Shahalom made a guest appearance in episode 19 of Badman's World.
In July 2013, Ali appeared on Channel 4's month-long documentary series, Ramadan Diaries. In July 2015, he collaborated with Humza Arshad on episode 19 of Badman's World. In October 2015, he performed on the "Sounds of Light" tour with musicians Safe Adam and Harris J. In December 2015, he went on a 20 city national tour with comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny and Guz Khan. Throughout 2017, Ali worked with BBC to script and star in Snapchat content, which went on to win a Social Buzz Award and a Digiday Award. In February 2017, Ali made a special guest appearance on BBC One's musical show Let It Shine.In March 2017, Ali helped the social media planning for Channel 4's documentary Extremely British Muslims. In April 2017, he did four shows across the United States. In May 2017, Ali performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse for BBC Asian Network's Comedy Night.
Recogition
In October 2016, Shahalom was named one of the "Young British Muslim Millennials Changing The World" by The Asian Today.