Omid Djalili is back with series two of Winning Combination on ITV – and the show marks quite the career change for the comedian.
Born in Chelsea, London, Omid is 55 and of Persian and British decent.
But is he married? Does he have kids? And what’s this about a bit-part in a Bond movie?
Read on for all you’ve ever wanted to know about Winning Combination host Omid.
How did Winning Combination host Omid Djalili find fame?
Omid started out as a stand-up comic, with his Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner’s Son routine going down a storm at the 1995 Edinburgh Fringe.
After numerous gruelling tours, Omid made his way to the small screen, appearing on Comic Relief and Top Gear.
Come 2005, he was breaking Edinburgh Festival box office records with his ticket sales.
Read more: Quiz show fans divided over amid Djalili’s Winning Combination
In 2006 Sky picked him to be the face of its Saturday night film premieres – and Hollywood stardom has also come calling for the man himself.
He’s appeared in Gladiator, The Mummy, Mean Machine, Alien Autopsy, The World is Not Enough, Notting Hill and Sex and the City 2.
Omid has said that he usually appears as a generic Middle Eastern background character in many of these films.
And he’s been known to comment that he appears in the James Bond film as the “Second Azerbaijani oil pipe attendant”.
@ladybiddz The legend of the 2nd Azerbaijani oil pipe attendant. Stunning movie moment heckling Sophie Marceau in a generic accent
— Omid Djalili (@omid9) January 12, 2013
Omid Djalili’s move to the West End
West End producer Cameron Mackintosh proved to be a Djalili fan when he signed him up to star as Fagin in Oliver!.
Running at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Omid drew complaints from his wife and kids over the role.
Read more: The Chase fans in hysterics over ‘royal’ episode
He and wife Annabel Knight, an actress, married in 1992 and have three kids together – Isabella, Louis and Daniel.
During a 2009 interview, he said: “The kids complain that they hardly see me, and my wife’s not happy about it.
“I think the plan is to get to a level of success, then choose what you do, so you have quality time together.
“After Fagin, I’m taking the family to the Bahamas for three weeks.”
So what’s Winning Combination all about?
The second series has just started on ITV.
Djalili started hosting the show in 2020 and it sees nine contestants battle it out to win a daily jackpot.
Each player is assigned a number between one and nine, with the four that make the final trying to win the jackpot defined by those numbers.
Each player’s number is also the total of questions they must answer correctly in the final game against the clock.
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Career controversy
Back in 2019, Djalili did come under fire for making disparaging remarks about the Welsh language on Twitter.
He posted a photograph of a road sign written in Welsh and said underneath: “There are worse things than being Welsh, dyslexic & having a terrible stutter. But not many.”
After being met with an unfavourable reaction, Djalili didn’t exactly apologise.
There are worse things than being Welsh, dyslexic & having a terrible stutter. But not many pic.twitter.com/jEEBJTeyc1
— Omid Djalili (@omid9) June 30, 2019
Instead, he replied to the backlash with a tweet that referred to head of comedy at BBC Radio Sioned Wiliam, who is Welsh.
The comic said: “Going to suggest to Sioned a show with the superb replies.”
However, Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens wan’t amused.
He called the gag a “cheap, offensive jibe at a nation’s language which has needlessly insulted people who have experience with dyslexia or speech impediments”.
How much is Winning Combination host Omid worth?
According to Idol Networth, all those ticket sales and movie roles over the years have added up.
He is said to be worth a cool £6.7 million.
Winning Combination is on ITV weekdays at 3pm.
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