Adeel Akhtar left 'emotional' as he travels to Kenya and uncovers his family roots in Who Do You Think You Are?
It turns out of his ancestors was quite integral to historyAdeel Akhtar has taken a special trip to Kenya for Who Do You Think You Are? and is left “emotional” as he discovers the truth about his family roots.
The BAFTA-winning actor, 45, is keen to find out how his Indian ancestors ending up settling in East Africa.
In order to dig deep into the past, Adeel boards a flight and travels to Nairobi. And he is amazed by what he discovers.
Adeel Akhtar to star in Who Do You Think You Are?
Adeel’s upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are? will begin in London. The actor lives in the city with his wife and their two children.
The Sherwood and Down Cemetary Road star’s mum came to the UK from Kenya, but their roots originated in India. Adeel wants to know: “How did a load of Indian people end up in East Africa?!”
With the help of ancestry experts, Adeel will trace back his family tree and visit Nairobi, a place he has only been to a handful of times.
During the trip, Adeel looks closely at several family members. One is his three-times great grandfather, Suleman Verjee.
Suleman was Adeel’s first relative to settle in Kenya, having travelled from Gujarat in a dhow (a traditional wooden sailing vessel). He arrived in Mombasa, settled and had kids. His son, Kassam, later relocated to Nairobi when Suleman died.
And, as Adeel discovers, Kassam was extremely influential on how the capital city of Kenya has been shaped!
Adeel says: “It was very moving actually, to follow Suleman’s son Kassam and realise that he and some other families were quite integral to the development of Nairobi and the modern-day Nairobi that we know now.
“For him to travel from Mombasa to Nairobi without his father, because he died, was particularly moving. His father never got to see all the amazing things that Kassam achieved.”
Later in the episode, Adeel is left saddened to discover the discrimination his ancestors and other Indian natives experienced in Kenya. He says finding out about it left him “emotional”.
Adeel adds: “Yes, the episode also covers a lot of discrimination towards Asians within East Africa. I felt quite emotional at the fact that they were at the forefront of change being made.
“It just really intensified my feelings towards my family history.”
When is Adeel’s Who Do You Think You Are? episode on?
Who Do You Think You Are? is now in full swing again following a brief pause for the FIFA World Cup and Wimbledon.
Adeel’s episode will air on BBC One on Thursday July 23, 2026. The show will start at 9pm and, as usual, has a run-time of one hour.
In the meantime, you can watch fellow actor Toby Jones retrace his ancestry in Who Do You Think You Are?. Toby appears in the next episode of the series, which airs tomorrow (Thursday July 16) at 9pm.
Toby apparently makes a “thrilling” discovery – and we’re dying to find out what it is!
