Harki Bhambra – Favourite Things

Harki Bhambra is a British actor who has appeared in television shows including Two Doors Down, Our Girl, Doctor Who, Drifters and Call the Midwife. He recently played the character Ajay Dewan in Coronation Street and is currently playing Dr Samir Hasan in the ITV drama, The Good Karma Hospital, airing on Sunday nights at 8pm.

These are a few of Harki Bhambra’s favourite things…

Hampstead Heath

I’ve been fortunate enough to live incredibly close to Hampstead Heath on two separate occasions during my eight years living in London. At first, I thought it was just a standard park, but it is such an incredible escape from the heaviness of London life. I can spend hours wandering through it, listening to music or ringing a friend. On both the occasions that I lived near to the Heath, I was going through a tricky time in my life. A friend who I was staying with used to say that the Heath has healing qualities, and I used to laugh, but I believe her now. Any time anyone comes and asks for a recommendation for their time in London I’ll always tell them to give the Heath a go.

Second Captains Podcast

I love football, and I’m a long-suffering Arsenal fan. I’ve listened to so many different football podcasts, but the Second Captains podcast stands hands and shoulders above the others. Ken Early’s take on the current footballing topics is unrivalled, and they do such a good job of covering any sporting issue or current huge political issue reasonable and sound way. The rapport between Ken, Eoin and Ciaran is so easy to listen to, and it has all the ingredients for the perfect podcast.

The Sopranos

I think I’ve been through the series around six times now. The performances of James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and Michael Imperioli are on a different level. Tony Soprano is obviously one of the all-time great characters but I’ve got a particular soft spot for Imperioli’s performance; it would be a dream of mine to be allowed to portray a character like his Chrissy. If I’m ever needing a bit of inspiration in my work or generally want a bit of comfort watching, I’ll always stick an episode on. Every episode is a masterpiece. And if anyone ever wants to dispute its spot as number one, give me a shout.

Oasis

There are other bands that are technically better, but Oasis will always kinda be my number one. I remember playing “(Whats the story) Morning Glory” on repeat when I was growing up and figuring out how amazing music can be. Their albums after that didn’t come close to the first two, but I’d religiously listen to anything they brought out, and I was fortunate to see them six times before they split. I think their music has an underlying message of hope to it, so if things are getting a bit rubbish, I’ll always stick some of their classics on to reset myself. I get that Noel is the brain behind it all, but I’ll always think there’s something special about Liam’s swagger and what he brings to the songs.

Friends

I always count my lucky stars to have my friends in my life. I didn’t go straight into acting, so I have a few groups of incredibly solid friends from before I came down to London for drama school. I think it’s really important to have close friends who aren’t in the industry as they keep you grounded. I’ve also been incredibly lucky to have met a lot of really amazing people since being a part of the industry too. When you get a bit older, you assume that you have got all the friends you need, but working in the industry has blessed me with some wonderful new friends that always have my back and make me feel part of a community.

Enjoyed Harki Bhambra’s favourites? Explore last week’s Favourite Things here.