News / radio
Mabby Alam: abolishing the stereotype
When BBC Asian Network put a call-out to find new presenters from across the UK, a filmmaker from Fishponds thought to herself that she could do that.
Mabby Alam sent in her demo, the station manager loved it and now throughout December she has her own weekly show every Sunday evening.
Mabby’s mantra is abolishing the stereotype. “I want to dispel all these assumptions people may have of me,” she told Bristol24/7 ahead of her debut show.
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“A Muslim girl, who wears a hijab, pursuing a creative career, you don’t hear of us often but people like me are around!
“I want to shout about that, amplify the hidden voices and BBC Asian Network have given me the platform to do so.”
Mabby Alam is presenting a weekly show on BBC Asian Network throughout December – photo: BBC
Twenty-five-year-old Mabby went to Andalusia Academy in St Jude’s, attended John Cabot Academy in Kingswood for sixth form and studied art at Bristol School of Art at the RWA in Clifton.
She has always lived in Fishponds other than studying film at UCA in Surrey. “But Bristol always calls me back, it’s where my roots are!”
“I’m a first-gen British Bengali. My parents came here and raised us. Bristol is all I know, and I love being part of a multicultural hub that has influenced me heavily in my creative ambitions.”
So how is Mabby feeling ahead of her national radio debut?
“I can never give a straight answer! I am feeling every emotion possible. Kind of like having an out of body experience in the best way.
“All I know is I want to do my fellow Bristolians proud. I’m bringing references from my upbringing. I literally start my show by saying, ‘Alright my lovers’!”
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Mabby says that she has been refining her shows with her producer Hayley Clarke, “trying to encompass me through and through, from memories of dancing to Bollywood in my living room with my cousins to opening up to new genres like soca, bashment and jazz.
“I think people will be surprised by how diverse my shows will be but enjoy it in the process.
“I’m repping the whole South West, Bristol, Bengalis and Muslim girls. There’s pressure but I’m ready for it!”
Mabby’s show is every Sunday evening in December from 9pm-11pm on BBC Asian Network
Main photo: BBC
Read more:
- My Bristol Favourites: Mabby Alam
- A day of new DJs on Noods Radio
- Where are Bristol’s South Asian DJs?
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