Ash Atalla is a television producer whose first hit was the BBC sitcom The Office, starring Ricky Gervais. He followed it up with the IT Crowd, People Just Do Nothing, Big Boys and Stath Lets Flats. His haul of awards from these programmes include six BAFTAs, four Royal Television Society awards, a Golden Globe and an Emmy. Ash was born in Cairo and when he was six months old he contracted polio. He has been a wheelchair user all his life and believes the challenges he faced in his early life ignited his drive and ambition.
Ash graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Business Administration and became a stockbroker for an investment bank. It was a fleeting career as he soon realised he wasn’t a natural when it came to numbers. His next stop was the BBC where he eventually joined the comedy department.
Ash produced both series of The Office and, after leaving the BBC, moved on to the award-winning Channel 4 comedy series the IT Crowd and later the BBC’s People Just Do Nothing, the sitcom about a London pirate radio station.
He co-founded the production company Roughcut TV in 2007 and recently produced the six-part drama series Little Disasters, starring Jo Joyner and Diane Kruger.
Ash lives in London.
DISC ONE: Everything She Wants - Wham! DISC TWO: Enta Omri (“You Are My Life”) - Umm Kulthum DISC THREE: At Night - Shakedown DISC FOUR: Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) - Phil Collins DISC FIVE: My Ever Changing Moods - The Style Council DISC SIX: Handbags and Gladrags – Rod Stewart DISC SEVEN: The Universal - Blur DISC EIGHT: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
BOOK CHOICE: Rewire Your Anxious Brain: Stop Overthinking, Find Calm, and Be Present by Nick Trenton LUXURY ITEM: An Indian restaurant CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley