Guz Khan

Full transcript

Home Again – Interview with Guz Khan

Introduction

Guz Khan: I've got a very bad reputation with friends and colleagues of, "Where is Guz? He's gone home." There's never wrap parties for me. Whenever we finish, I'm in the car quick as I can, I give everybody a hug, everybody a kiss. I'm like, "I'm out." I, I love home

Ella: Hi, I'm Ella.

Matt: And I'm Matt, and you're listening to Home Again, a podcast from SpareRoom about the places we live.

Ella: Where we ask our guests to pick three homes and tell us how they shaped their lives.

Matt: So who is our guest this week?

Ella: Our guest this week is Guz Khan. He's a writer, a comedian, an actor, probably best known for his role as Mobeen in the BAFTA-nominated series ‘Man Like Mobeen’, which is over on BBC iPlayer.

Ella: We've both watched it. We both love it.

Matt: I mean, I absolutely did. I hadn't seen it before, and I've just been storming my way through it, to the extent that before we came here, I got off a train with five minutes left of an episode and just stood in the ticket hall of the train station to watch the end of it. It talks about really serious stuff, but it holds it really lightly, and it's just a glorious watch. I've really enjoyed it.

Ella: My first impression of Guz was on Taskmaster, and he is probably one of my favourite contestants on there. But seeing him from that and then watching ‘Man Like Mobeen’, which has so many of those qualities, but also, like you said, has such a warmth and has so many important messages, it's just a really fun contrast.

Matt: I’m really looking forward to meeting him and seeing what he's like in real life.

Ella: Yeah, 100%. Can't wait.

Ella: Hi, Guz. Welcome to the podcast.

Guz Khan: Thank you for having me, guys.

Ella: Thanks for being on.

Matt: Yeah, looking forward to this one.

Ella: So if you don't mind, just to sort of warm you up, get things going, we wanna ask a couple of quick-fire questions so that we can find out what you're like at home. Shoes on or off?

Guz Khan: Shoes off.

Ella: Immediately.

Guz Khan: Quickest answer

Matt: Ever.

Ella: Yeah. I'm not even gonna follow up on that. You're so certain.

Matt: That's it. That's the answer. Everything has a place, or organised chaos?

Guz Khan: Disorganised chaos in our house. I'd love to say organised, but oh my God, it's bad in there sometimes.

Ella: What's the most you thing about your home?

Guz Khan: Extremely comfortable sofas. As the years have gone on and I've put on more and more weight, my children use me as a sofa, so it's only fair that I can lean onto a more comfy sofa. So yeah, like, that's synonymous with me in any house that I've ever had. When people come around, they're like, "Oh, these sofas, mate, they're comfy." So yeah, definitely sofas.

Matt: You kind of go through life, and you realise the things that are worth spending money on and the things that aren't, and a good bed, a good sofa, a good shower

Guz Khan: Yeah. You know what? This is how I realise. I'm in the uncle era now, and I'm very happily in my uncle era because, like you said, when you go to a new place or even a hotel, if it's got, like a Hansgrohe shower? Like, you know, you know you're gonna get blasted with a good level of power. So showers, sofas, beds, yeah, they're the way to go for sure.

Matt: Oh, what's your home alone guilty pleasure?

Guz Khan: Home alone guilty pleasure. It's unadulterated YouTube video watching, on that L-shaped sofa in front of an 85-inch Samsung Frame TV that's got no glare. You know what I mean? Like, I told you, I'm in my uncle era. I've thought about all this stuff. With no glare, just watching, like, mindless Japanese '90s car nostalgia videos. That's if I've got a minute to myself; that's what I like to do.

Matt: You can't get that many minutes to yourself with five kids, can you?

Guz Khan: No. Like, three minutes in the last four years. Them three minutes, mate, oh my God.

Ella: YouTube Shorts.

Guz Khan: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Home 1

Ella: Amazing. So with that, should we move on to talking about your first home?

Guz Khan: Please, yeah. So first home is the gaffer's home. That's my mum's house. It's the house that I grew up in. It was shared with me, my two older sisters, and my mum, and they made sure that house was kept prim and proper by your boy over here. So I'm talking like Hoover's, “make sure that's clean”, “excuse me, why are you chilling in the corner? There's something to do”. So I've always been quite used to keeping houses and spaces maintained. And my sisters, as they got older, they got married, they moved on. So it was just me and my mum in this house, terraced house in Cov. And that was home. I got married, convinced my missus to move into that family home, and that's where we then started our family. So my first memory, I think, is definitely Mum's house.

And when we started having kids, I've had a lot. We moved into this loft space at my mum's. It was only small, probably wide enough for the two double mattresses that we had on the floor in that loft, but we loved it. And so my three oldest kids - my oldest, she's 15 now - they've got really fond memories of this quite small space with me, my missus, and then three kids between us on these two double mattresses. But I'll never forget it. I remember us being like, "It has to have, like, three Velux windows”, against council regulations, but we did it anyway; you gotta do what you gotta do. Good job the neighbours aren't snitches. We've known them a long time. And we would just always wake up, those windows would be open, especially in the summer and we've got such fond memories of such a small space where we kind of raised our first three kids. So yeah, mom's house is definitely the vibe, and it was always a place that was not the biggest, but it was always full, and I suppose as we discuss, you'll find that that's something we maintained as we went on. Yeah.

Matt: I love that idea that most people kind of get married and have kids and move out. You just moved up.

Guz Khan: Yeah. My mum wasn't the happiest person about it, but again it's one of those important things where, you know, Mum was a single mum, and, you know, I was the last kid kicking about in the house. I didn't wanna leave her on her, on her own, you know? So the fact that there was that space, and she was kind enough to allow us to kinda do that little loft extension and go up there, it's great memories. And, like, it taught me a lot about actually going on, what you need from a home, how much space you actually need, and you don't need that much. The position I've been lucky enough to be in the last 10 years of my career has taken me to places that are, you know, staying for work purposes, palatial. Oh, the vibes are bad. It's too big. Like, where's he? Where's she? What's going on here? A smaller space is a homely space, so yeah, it taught us a lot.

Matt: There's a thread of that that runs through. I've been absolutely obsessed with ‘Man Like Mobeen’. I hadn't watched it for whatever reason, and the last 8-10 days, three seasons of it, storming through it. And there's such a sense in there of, think about what you've got, as much as anything, it's about family, it's about community, it's about all of these things, but also what have you got? Not what haven't you got? Because we just get so...Once you see something else, you go, "I want that thing." And it's like, do I need that thing? I don't know. But it's an easy path to go. And once you go down it, it's very hard to stop and go, "I've got this. This is pretty good, actually."

Guz Khan: 100%. And, you know, on that as well, I always try to listen to people who've got more of that life experience than me.

And one of my very close friends, he's in his mid-50s now. And he started off - I think it was him, six brothers and sisters, mum and dad - in an area in Coventry called Hillfields, a super working-class area, super diverse, but there were all of those guys in a two-bedroom house, essentially.

When we were growing up, it was normal. Like, people would be spilling out houses, and you'd be having fun and knocking up for them and running up in their house. But he called me to his house now. And he's done really well for himself. He's a builder, massive house, massive plot. And I remember walking up there being like, "Flipping heck, he's done well for himself." So we went in, and we sat down, you know, we was chopping it up. And he goes "Can you hear that?" And I was like, "No. Is there something I should be hearing?" He's like, "That's the point. I can't hear; you can't hear nothing." And he went on to explain that one of the worst decisions he'd ever made when he did well financially was build this massive house, because everybody crept off into their own spaces, his son is in, like, the fourth floor of this house in the loft. His daughter's got her own massive room on the left-hand side of the house.

He goes, "And what happened is," in his head, he wanted to build this dream home for his family, massive, loads of space. He goes, "It absolutely killed the vibes of bumping into each other and having arguments." You know, he goes, "I'd love an argument with these kids, but I don't even know where they are." And when he told me that, it just, it really drove home to me that, my gosh, the way you choose your home, the size of your home, it actually has a huge impact on family life. And so in ‘Man Like Mobeen’, a show about a working-class guy trying to really just stay ahead and be ahead, you're right. It’s got a lot of those memories where people aspirationally always want the bigger home, right? In an amazing location. But sometimes the energy of community and family being close-knit- there's nothing that really can replace that, so yeah.

Ella: I'm kind of interested then in the dynamic of the household. It sounds like you enjoy maybe too many people being in one room, having people coming in and out - a loud, noisy household, then.

Guz Khan: I've got a very bad reputation with friends and colleagues of, "Where is Guz? He's gone home." There's never wrap parties for me. Whenever we finish, I'm in the car quick as I can; I give everybody a hug, everybody a kiss. I'm like, "I'm out." I love home. I love home for the fact that if it was just me and it was a quiet space, it would be a nightmare. But with five kids and Deano, who's my, my missus, that's the minimum amount of people in our house at any given time. My nieces and nephews, who are still local and they're now in their early twenties, mid-twenties, who are basically like my mates, essentially, are always around the house. They've got a great relationship with my kids. So during the week, there's probably, like, a minimum of nine people in the house, and when it comes to the weekends, that's upwards of 14. So it's kinda like a party at home a lot of the time. But I’m gonna have to give a lot of credit to Deano, my missus, for that as well, 'cause you have to curate that, right? You have to make home a place where people wanna come and chill. If people come round and you're like, "Can you not make a mess of that?”, “Can you put your shoes over there?" People are like, "Oh, I'm a bit stressed." Our home's, like, super free-flowing. So yeah, it means a lot to us, for sure.

Ella: And has it always been that way? Is that what it was like when you were growing up as well?

Guz Khan: Yeah. Like, obviously when we were growing up, my mum is a proper gaffer. So, when Countdown was on, or anything with Bradley Walsh was appearing on television - who's still her favourite person on TV, by the way. Her son's on TV, but Bradley Walsh still- you know what I mean? You can't compete with him. But yeah, when she needed her quiet time, we'd be out the front of the house or in a mate's garden. So I, I've, yeah, you're 100% right, I've always been used to that level of interaction and company, and it's something, like, mindfully we, we, we've set up the, the houses that we've lived in across the years to facilitate that, you know? You want a place where people can feel comfortable to come and chill. 'Cause I have been to, you know, a friend's house and stuff where everything has to be in place, and, "That's my dad's chair." Right? Like, "Huh? Your dad ain't even here. What you mean, your dad's chair? Your dad's at work, bruv. Let me sit in this chair." There's none of that in our house. You can sit wherever you like, sleep wherever you like, for sure.

Ella: It's something about the sort of vibe and atmosphere, I think. Like you were saying, you know, your house was always clean. You were always on it, making sure everything was nice and presentable. But, like, my family home is a bit like that. We literally had the front door unlocked, and sometimes I'd come home, and my friend was, like, helping herself, like, making a cup of tea - like, chatting with my mum or whatever. And it was just because they knew there was a, like, a warmth in the house and that everyone was welcome there.

Guz Khan: Yeah. And you know, it's a real, like, life choice to do that. 'Cause after a long day at work, I'm sure your mum some days would be like, "Let me just lock this flipping door." And let me... Do you know what I mean? Just have five minutes to myself. But it's almost like a responsibility. And, and again, something I learned from my mum, like, my mum's house, that living room was always full. Like, people would come to her for lots of different reasons. Maybe... I remember when we were growing up, a lot of people in the area would come to my mum to translate, like, letters that had come from the council, or, "Zainab, can you make this phone call for us 'cause we're not quite sure about whatever." So my mum's living room was always, like, rammed full. But, again, like, I've got some cousins where the rules were a little bit different, and it's a completely different dynamic. Everyone's got their own setup, but I just, I can't fathom it. Like, to walk home to a quiet house is the creepiest concept to me. So yeah, it's, it's very important for us that we set the house up like that.

Matt: And it's an interesting thing, 'cause my experience was different. Like, I didn't grow up with any family within an hour-and-a-half drive of us. It was, like, me, my mum and dad, my sisters. My dad's parents are down the other end of the country, and my mum's parents are kind of hour-and-a-half away. And our house was quiet, and we didn't have this open door thing. And so as I grow up, you get older, you go to other people's houses, you experience this thing. You go, "Oh, hang on a minute, this looks good." And that we've now, and like you were saying about your wife, my wife is amazing at making our house welcoming. And we live right by a train station in London, so people come to our house. Like, our nieces come and take over the house, bring their mates with them. And they come to gigs in London, and we go, "Right, well, we'll go on a holiday then. You can have the house." And it's great, and I love it, but I just wasn't used to it.

Guz Khan: So in terms of when you kind of first saw those setups, was it a little bit overwhelming, though? Or were you-

Matt: Still. Like, still, I get a little bit. And it just, on a personal, like, people level, when I encounter, like, a big sort of open, talk-to-anybody kinda character, like, I'm immediately drawn to it. And a little bit of me is like, "What do they want?" You know? Like, and it's that thing of just- ... it's just what your, your default setting is. It's really hard to reset your default setting on anything-

Guz Khan: Yeah ...

Matt: much as you want to. There's a thread of this that runs through Man Like Mobeen that I find fascinating, and it's... I was wondering if it's a cultural thing. And I don't think it necessarily is, 'cause I know Welsh people are like this as well. This sense of you will always be the kid who did that thing at the age of five. You will never outgrow that. We will never let you forget it. You will always be the youngest kid. You'll always be this kid or that kid, and that will leave you with, for the rest of your life.

Guz Khan: Yeah.

Matt: And there's a beautiful- sense of support and love about that, that like you never, you can't outgrow it because, and you will, and you can. But it's also always gonna be, you will always just be that stupid kid, and that's really grounding it feels like.

Guz Khan: Yeah, you know, like, it, it's amazing that you say that because in my life, you come out and you do all the things that we get to do for work, and you make television and film, and you go out and perform in front of, you know, thousands of people. But when I get back home, I am that dickhead who has failed to do seven things on a tick list. My mother's worst child by far. The guy that annoyed my sisters to death. And like, it's really interesting you mention it because, like, I kinda love it. I would hate to go home to, in particular my mum and my sisters, and for them to be like, "You've done really well." That would be so weird. Like, my, my house set up now where we currently live is that big family space, and, you know, we've set it up to be that. But it is kind of funny, like, you know, we could never have comprehended that we'd live in a house that we do now with the space that it has, and in particular the, the garden's a really big feature for us. Like, you open those bifold doors and you're greeted with, like, nature. We're from Coventry City, man. There's concrete everywhere, bro. You're lucky the council didn't cut the tree down 'cause it cost too much to maintain. So, like, what we get to see every day when we wake up, like my mum and my sisters will be there, and I'm just like, I've always wanted to ask them, like, "Yeah, did all right, innit?" You know what I mean? But it is a conversation I will never bring up and they'll never bring up. I'm just so happy that they know that, you know, my mum has her son and my sisters have their brother. Like, my spot is theirs as well.

Do you get what I mean? Like, it's theirs to enjoy. Although I'm that kid that did their heads in and got in loads of trouble, I, I hope deep down somewhere there's someone like, "Yeah, he's that guy, but he's done all right." And, and, and like I never, I've got a rule like I never exclude people from whatever good comes my way.

Do you know what I mean? 'Cause at the end of the day, life is all about luck. It could've been them, it could've been him, it could've been her, so that's a really important thing in terms of home setup, I don't think anyone's ever called me to be like, "I'm popping round." They're just there, you know? And that's, that's the way we love it as a family, yeah.

Matt: Well, that's one of the quick-fire questions we ask people sometimes, isn't it, text first or just turn up. And we said there's no point asking him this 'cause the answer's just gonna be turn up, right?

Guz Khan: Yeah, turn up. Yeah, yeah. And it's obviously, you've gotta be, you've gotta be within that circle of trust. I've had fans of ‘Man like Mobeen’ sometimes turn up at the door. It's like, "Brother, this is not ... This invite is not open to you. I know I'm loud, and you must've heard it down the street somewhere, but just relax." But, you know, if you're someone who's friends or family, like, yeah, our, our home is your home.

And, and you mentioned something really lovely as well, which is we also, when we're out of the city and our home, which is regularly for work, me, Deano, and the kids, we tend to travel a lot together for my work, yeah, my keys are there for anyone to use, nieces, nephews, uncles who are coming from Edinburgh.

It makes you feel, it makes you feel good. Like, you know, when you do it, you're doing something. You're providing a homely space for somebody, which is one of the most important things you can do. So yeah, it's a great feeling.

Ella: I think also that's really impressive and probably really nice for you to feel like you've been able to maintain, because you have become so successful, and you're in such a different position than you were maybe 10, 15 years ago.

Guz Khan: Yeah.

Ella: And quite a lot of people that will be around you won't be. And the fact that they still feel like they can address you the same, and I know you're saying people turning up at your door- Yeah, not ideal, but they're still seeing you as that guy-

Guz Khan: Yeah

Ella: That, you know, you see down the corner shop or, you know, walking in the park with your kids or whatever.

Guz Khan: For sure, and like, you know, for me, the big thing is, like, a lot of people, of course it takes hard work. You have to put the hard work in. But, like, this is luck of the draw. I genuinely believe that. I think, like, people who take themselves too seriously and say, "I was born for this. This was, this was meant to be me," I'm like, "Big man, chill out. That could've been..." You know? So, like, I never...These, these things that I've been, you know, kinda blessed with and afforded with, it's like my responsibility to share it with as many people as I can, and I feel like for me, it doesn't matter how much you build in terms of, like, the material, like homes and stuff.

It's all material stuff, right? It, the, like, for me, it’s a really important thing, spiritually is that I'm gonna be gone one day, and there's this crazy thing. You always see ... Whenever I'm searching for house stuff, it always comes up, if someone's recreated it in a new mirror. It's like “In 100 years, people that you've never met will be living in your house”. Every time it comes up, my missus is like, "Big man, you've shown me that 37 times... in the last two weeks." But I think it's a really important concept. You can love it, and it can be special for you now, but it's right, right? You know, in 100 years' time, nobody we even will have met will be living in this place we call home. And I think that's a really important way that I like to think about homes and stuff as well.

Matt: Yeah. I've got a mate who lives in a house that's 350 years old, and he sort of says, "I don't really feel like it's my house. I feel like I'm just looking after it till it's somebody else's house. Like, it's been a lot more people's house already than it's mine, you know?"

Home 2

Matt: So you moved up, but eventually you must have moved out. Tell us about your second home.

Guz Khan: Yeah, the second house was, was a big move, guys; it was next door to my mum's house.

Matt: Did you at least go down to street level, or did you just go straight into the attic and down?

Guz Khan: I kicked that termite-ridden loft through, mate. So basically, this story's kinda wild. The guy that owned the house before us was an interesting guy. You know, growing up in a working-class area, everyone's got their name: ‘Baldy’ lives there, ‘Chunky’ lives there. We knew him as a guy who in maybe 25 years had one person come to the house, and he used to have, in his-

Matt: Did they leave again?

Guz Khan: Wow. Did they ... Listen, this is the big question, bro, did they leave again? We're not sure. But he used to ...You know, like, in ‘Home Alone’ when Macaulay Culkin sets up those cardboard cutouts? He'd have those in his, like ... So he was a dude, you know, every time I'd be like, "Yo, what's going on, John?" And he'd mutter something and then go back in his house.

But I got a phone call off my mom, and she goes, "Yeah, John's dead." And I was like, "Did you kill him? Like, how...how, how are you presenting me with this news?" She's like, "Yeah, I hadn't seen him for a few days, so I looked through his letterbox, and he looks pretty dead." So John had - John had KO'd. Deano, who was with my mom, was like, "Yeah, you know, Mom, there's, there's kinda like a, there's kinda like a procedure here. Before you call your son, you probably call the police." So, the police ended up coming out. But it's kind of amazing because years of giving this guy this reputation, which I, you know, as you get older, you're like, "Oh, that's unfair." I'll never forget, obviously, he was taken to his final resting place. But then armed police, West Midlands Armed Police turned up, and we were like, "This is interesting." And they found a cache of guns that were buried under, like, the floorboards of his house. And then - Yeah ... like obviously the street, everyone knows this shit. Everyone's like, "I knew it, mate. I knew he had 72 guns." We're like, "There's only three." But you know how the story starts getting out of control. And when that took place, I was like, in my head I was like, "This is such a legendary thing. We gotta buy this house. It's gonna go up for auction. We've gotta make it happen." So it actually ended up being a while, because no one was there to take over his estate. Apparently there was a relative in Aus- there's always a relative in Australia somewhere. Someone was there, but that took, like, a year and a half. Eventually it came up for auction. And me, my missus, my best mate, we went down to London, and we, we managed to, we managed to get it, and that was, like, me and Deano's first, like 'Cause living next door was cool, but it's still mom's house, right?

Matt: Mm.

Guz Khan: We got to kinda imprint on this house, and it was so fun. Your first house was a really special house, but it's like for the first time, no one's gonna input or tell you do this or do that and so we went crazy with it. I spent way more than we should have on a three-bedroom terrace house in Cov. But that was a home, and like Deano, who's really creative person, got to go crazy with the interior decor design and we, again, flouting council regulation rules a lot, between my mom's house and that house, at the top of the stairs is, is an adjoining wall. So we took that out, we built like a door frame.

And that house, for my niece and nephews, who were still young at the time, became like a spot. It was busy before. We, we 10X'd it, you know? And there's such great memories of my kids growing up, you know, from being newborns to probably like eight or nine years old, running between the houses, getting told off by my mom, my mom passing messages to them to cuss me out. Do you know what I mean? But it was such an amazing thing because my mom still had that security of they're close, but there is a house that you can now piss off to because it's too noisy, so that, our second home was, was really special. A lot of memories. And we're just in the process of selling it now, so it's a weird feeling that there's a sold sign on that board 'cause there's, there's so many memories attached to it. But, you know, the couple who's gonna be moving in, it's wicked to see. They're starting a family. They're in their mid-20s and I think that's how, that's how home should be, you know? You live, you, you take those memories, and then someone else gets to build their memories in them. So yeah, a lot of great memories from that.

Ella: How did your mum feel when you moved next door? What was her first thought?

Guz Khan: Do you know, she's always the kinda energy where it's like, "I wish you would move to Mars." But I think she was really happy because, like, it's an interesting thing. You don't realize till there's kids about, but they do really make a day go quick.

And so, you know, for someone who's now- she's 77- being in her kind of like, when I had my first one, like early 60s, she goes, "You killed my good times", 'cause it was mostly spent with the kids. But she's reflecting on it now; now people move out and move on, and I, I often take her with me to the properties that we live in now. It's like, oh, they were such great memories. It was so fun, and when we moved next door, though, she'd be like, "You could move anywhere" I think she was really happy because you've got that security of... Which also, it's also like the space, right? She's such a confident woman that the fact that it was literally, what is that, like two and a half foot of brick, right? It is your own home. Time for you to go to your house at the top of the stairs and through that magic door. So I think she was really glad that we had that space. But again, for all of us- my sisters, nieces, nephews, mates - just great memories. We, we took...There was a big hedge that separated the gardens, so we took that out. So then it essentially became one massive garden, which she was not pleased about. Because when the hedge was in, she hated the hedge. When the hedge came out, "You stole my hedge." I'm like, "I didn't steal it, mate. We took it down for additional space for us all to enjoy", but it's, it's such great memories of, like, garden cricket, and, like, neighbours would come round and chill and stuff.

So yeah, super special house, special memories. And I, I think she's so glad that we did that, 'cause at the time I could, I should have gone for a house that was probably much bigger and, and worth a lot more, 'cause I was in a position to do that. But instead we went to auction and got this house for, like, I wanna say it was like 128 grand.

Matt: And that came with all the guns as well.

Guz Khan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. There was a couple. Police left a couple behind. So, you know, left it with souvenirs, but yeah, it was, it's something that I'm so grateful for, the fact that big up John for KO'ing at the right time, because we, we had so many good memories there, yeah.

Matt: And presumably, you put the hedge back when the new people move in, and the wall goes back. It'd be a little bit weird if they start playing cricket in your mom's garden.

Guz Khan: Yeah, 100%. And, and my mom, if you catch her on the wrong day, they'll be in trouble. So a fence has gone, a fence has gone back up to divide the houses. Again, that was quite emotional as well, I think, for my mom, 'cause that was, like, the definite like, "Oh, you guys probably will never be back here again to, to live as a family." And I also offered, like, my nieces and nephews have done, you know, really well for themselves. They're in a position; it's like, "Does anybody wanna, anybody fancy it? Anybody wanna buy it? Bidding starting now. The Clavell Road house is going." And, and they have their own dreams, right? 'Cause they've lived it, and they loved it, but they have aspirations of living in different places and different types of houses. So I'm just so glad that, hopefully this, this couple's really gonna enjoy it and raise their family in it, for sure.

Matt: And that whole kind of idea of family, and it's one of the most beautiful threads that runs through ‘Man Like Mobeen’, and because it's... I love the idea that, like, family is family, and blood is thicker than water. But family is also, like, a role you can be recruited into, or you can apply for. Like, like the character Nate, for example

Guz Khan: Yes

Matt: And we've all got people like that who are more family than some of our family.

Guz Khan: 100%,

Matt: Yeah. And it's like, there's this lovely idea of, like, a house, and a, and you and Aqsa, and then there's, like, your mates and your family. But then the whole community, like, gets roped in. And the, just the little relationships with some of the local police and-

Guz Khan: Yeah

Matt: It's this lovely little tapestry of just everybody's part of this. You've all got different stories going on, but it's like, it's all one story really, which is a really beautiful thing.

Guz Khan: And you know, it's really interesting because, like, I feel like, especially in the UK right now, there's this, like, clutching at what's gone wrong, right? Like, people are constantly like, "Oh, I can't stand it. It's not what it used to be like." And I have to be honest, like, if there's one thing that has been lost, it's that sense of community. And sense of community has to come with, like, a semi-welcoming environment to even, like, your front garden or your driveway, right?

So even if someone's really like, "Hey, I don't want you lot messing up my house, and it's really noisy, you can chill in the front garden if you like”, you can whack some beanbags out and...You know what I mean? Like, I feel like that's kinda been lost. So ‘Man Like Mobeen’ was a really nice throwback to when we were kids, where even if you were getting told off, it was still lovely. Do you know what I mean? Like, because you'd be in a friend's front garden or a friend's back garden, or you'd be chilling out at the front of the street. And so I, I feel like that kind of like individualistic, this is my space, and I would like everybody to stay away from it's counterintuitive to like what community is, right? Good vibes, people being able to say hi. Like, the... Where we live now, we’d never have thought we'd ever be able to live there, but it's all like super high fences, security cameras. And so, like you, you're not gonna say hi to the person that lives two doors down because everything is closed off. They live in a, they live in a sanctuary, I'm sure for them, but you're completely shut off from the outside world. Whereas if I go back to the house I was talking about, that's open fronted. You, you can't do that, right? It's a... It forces you to interact with people. So yeah, it's really interesting what moving to like your so-called dream area or dream house does. It changes the context of what it's like to have neighbors and how you communicate, so yeah.

Ella: There's something special about those kinds of places, the way you speak about Cov, and like I'm from a very small town in Wales. And the way that people interact with each other, it's like nowhere else. Living in London now, it's quite jarring because the way I switch up when I get on the train to London, I'm immediately like, "No one talk to me." "No one come in my space." As soon as I go back home, bring friends from, you know, London back down there, and they're like, "Oh, do you know that person?" Like, "Why were you chatting to them for ages?" I was like, "Oh, no, this is just how we speak."

Guz Khan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's so interesting because, like in a city like London - you're kinda ironically primed for it to be much more like it is in Wales 'cause there's so many different types of people. There's so many different types of conversation that you could be having. But it's like the, maybe like the culture or the ethos of the city. Like, we were recently in Japan, and we loved it. But again, it's this like big metropolis-type living, which is people are crossing, like every second are crossing each other, and no one's saying a word. Whereas if you, I'm sure if you go to... I've got friends in, in Cardiff, and it's like where they kinda grew up is on this m- what's this, I don't know what the main strip is called, but like it's the main strip, and there's so many restaurants there, and it's so like everyone's shouting and screaming and like this language, this language and so it's, it's really interesting, like where you live, and probably one of the reasons why I've avoided London for that, to be honest with you. Because it does feel like the kinda place where the ethos or the energy of the city is like, "I'm in my space. Don't, don't interact." And again, like hopefully, I've explained so far, I'm a person that loves talking and interacting with people. So yeah, it's probably one of the reasons why I've avoided London.

Ella: But it is also one of the things that I have to keep reminding myself that you can bring that energy into those spaces, and most of the time it is reciprocated.

Guz Khan: Yeah.

Ella: It's kind of, as we were saying earlier about welcoming people into your home. It's about the vibe that you bring can be just as important as sort of the setting as well.

Guz Khan: Yeah, like just it's, it's slightly different because I know people will see you from the work that you've done. But my favourite interactions in this city are people who haven't got a clue who you are, and you'll be standing out in front of Turkish Best Mangal Kebab, and you'll be getting into some deep conversation about, like, like, southern Turkey and how he, you know, he's got a huge farm there. And look, those interactions are brilliant because you need a diverse city to speak to people from, you know, differing backgrounds. And I suppose Coventry is, you know, a super working-class, diverse city and Birmingham and Wolverhampton. But there, there are places that, you know, you go and you, you shoot, and you, you work in, and it is like - it is much quieter, you know, and it, and it is a much more, it's, it's a different pace of life.

But I think for me, like, just, just knowing that like you said, to initiate conversation and for it be a normal thing is... I think that's a skill that's been lost a little bit, right? Like in my own kids, I genuinely mean that. Like, they range from 15 to brand new. Obviously, brand new screams her head off every two minutes. Like, she, she's a proper chatter. But my eldest now, because of, like, you know, the generation that they're in, and they don't wanna look cringe, and like, it's prevented them from actually talking 'cause they're so worried about saying something that somebody might be like, "Oh my God, what did you say that for?" It's weird. It's weird to see. Whereas when you, when they're in the house at home, they're crazy, and they're loud, but you leave the house, and generationally everything's crazy. You know what I mean? So.

Matt: I think one of my favourite things, like, just sort of reading interviews and listening to stuff, like, you took the producers of ‘Man Like Mobeen’ to Small Heath and said "Look, come meet the people-" It's not, it's a place, but it's people. Come meet. And the people were happy to talk to them, and they're like, that's suddenly this basis for a truthful bit of, this is actually what I'm trying to say 'cause these are the people I'm talking about.

Guz Khan: Yeah.

Matt: And I find that fascinating.

Guz Khan: Well, you know, for me, historically, comedies had been made about, like, in and about the city, and it hadn't gone down well because, you know, when a camera crew turns up, they're under such pressure. They haven't got time to say hello to the neighbours and like, "Why have you parked a 30-foot, you know, lighting van out the front of my house?"And I, I just, I didn't want that to be the case. I wanted wherever we're gonna film location-wise, and whoever's gonna watch this show, for them to be able to watch it and be like, "That's reflective of, like, me, our mannerisms." Because people don't mind, right? You can bring a 30-foot lighting van and slap it out the front if you just knock on the door and say, "Hey, this is what we're doing. Do you mind?" Nine times out of 10, someone's gonna be like, "No, crack on. Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's interesting. Can't wait to see it." But you know, for me to take them to Small Heath, Gill Isles and Ollie Parsons- bless them- like, two of my best mates that, that I've made in the industry. It was so important because they took on this personal responsibility of- hold on a second. This is not just this guy who's gonna be saying funny stuff and writing funny stuff. We have, like, a social responsibility to represent and reflect these people properly, even in the sense that where ‘Man Like Mobeen’ was shot, it's like a lot of places in the West Midlands where it is like, just working class. You're struggling to meet ends meet, let alone be able to repaint the front of your house. Do you know what I mean? So when we were showing what the houses looked like, remember Ollie was the director, he's like, "There's certain grading and lighting that you can shoot in that makes that house look really dreary," right? "Or you can make it feel a little bit of a character in itself by choosing these green sofas to be outside the front of the house." We ... There, there was a lot of thought that went into, like, this is how people live, and if you're not from there, you might be like, "Oh my God, this is a bit rough." But if you're from there, that's your castle. That's your home. And we, you know, a lot of that attention to detail and thought process about choosing which house and why we're choosing it, the colour schemes of things that went in, was really important because Small Heath is home to so many people. Like, you know, a working class area in the valleys would, is, is home to so many people. It's really important to reflect those things, not always in like a, "Oh, isn't this bad?" That's home for people, you know, so it's important to us.

Ella: It's really amazing that you were so set on wanting to represent those communities properly and as you saw them, and how the people would want them reflected. I was listening to a podcast, and you even said at one point you saw the pilot, and you were like, "This, this isn't what I want. This isn't saying what I want it to say." And you know, being in the position where you get a commission for a BBC series, so many people would've been like, "Do you know what? I'm, I'm lucky. "I've hit the jackpot. Do you know what? Whatever they want, I'm gonna do it." And the fact that even then you were like, "No, if I can't do it the way that this needs to be done, then we're not, you know, fine."

Guz Khan: Yeah, it's interesting. You know, at the time, I remember people thinking that it was stupid. Like, "What are you doing?" But you kind of have to follow ... I feel like if you're following your heart in a sense that, hold on, I don't think it's right for these reasons, and those reasons are right, right? That you can't really, you can't really fail. And, and there was a, there was a guy who's incredibly talented, and he, it was just a few months before ‘Man Like Mobeen’, I think, had gone from YouTube- like an incredible YouTube series that him and his mate had made just off the cuff in South London. Like, it was hilarious. And it had gone to the format of TV, and it lost all of its magic because, they, he was quite a bit younger than me. He's like five, six years younger than me, so you know, when you're young, you are a little...people can push you, and you're a bit more impressionable, and it was such an important learning lesson for me, which is like him and his mate on their little DSLR created magic, and it goes through this filter and like 20 different people's opinions, and it became something that was, didn't, didn't even resemble the, the stuff that those two had made between themselves, you know? So that was in my head, and I was like, "If we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it." And I always just thought it would be four episodes and then I'd go back to real life. Like, who's gonna wanna…You know, we've had fun. What a legendary thing to be able to do. You popped out of nowhere, you make these four episodes. Hopefully the people that you make it for like it. And then, yeah, bro, 10, 11 years later, we're still here, so I'm glad we did it, yeah

Home 3

Matt: We are gonna need to move on to your third home.

Guz Khan: Yes.

Matt: I could keep talking for hours about what we're on, but we will need to ask you about third home. I'm excited to find out what's next.

Guz Khan: Third home. So we've moved through a few now. We've got a beautiful place in Coventry that we call home. But like the third, it's more of a type of home that I, I think I'd like to talk with you guys about.

Due to the nature of my work, I always made a promise to, to my wife and the kids, which is like, "If it's an extended project, I'd love for you guys to come with me on it”, because then you get family time, and you know, you're not missing out on all of the stuff that you have to do on a daily basis. And also, leaving your missus and five kids at home, this is not, this is not good vibes. This is counterintuitive to a marriage that's gonna work. So we always made that promise, and it started as early as lockdown. I was given this crazy opportunity to move to LA, work for a show on HBO, and whilst everybody else was like sat at home locked down, the power of these mighty studios in America were able to get us working visas, get us out of Cov and to LA. We had four kids and we were like, "We're gonna do it. What, five months in LA whilst everyone else is social distancing. Let's have it." So we jumped on this flight. We ended up in Los Angeles. Never been to America before. Neither had my missus. And it was like a culture shock because LA, with everything that...You know, the world was learning to cope with this new thing that had taken place. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, so I was actually a bit nervous because if you've never been, LA is a wild place, right? So the PR is amazing at how they make it look, Rodeo Drive and, you know, Beverly Hills Cop and all “Look at these good vibes”. LA proper is visually one of the most busiest and saddest places I've ever seen because there's the levels of homelessness and the levels of substance abuse. You've literally, you'll be driving down, and you'll have a Lamborghini Urus driving opposite you and someone looking like they're having a great time. But then right next to them, you've got, like, 30 tents set up. And I remember thinking, "Oh man, we should have stayed in Cov because this is just really sad." Like, my kids are like, "Pops, this is like, what's going on, bro? I feel so bad for these people." And I- we thought we made a mistake. We're staying in and around those busy, like, LA areas, and, and we just didn't like it.

So the studio was like, "Do you want us to suggest somewhere in the Hollywood Hills?" We were like, "Absolutely not, mate. From Charlie Victor One, you can keep the Hollywood Hills to yourself." So me and my missus jumped in the car, and we basically drove around LA for like three hours just trying to figure out where looks homely, right? What looks like it could be a place where where families live, people live? And we settled on this place called East LA, and it's a place called Mount Washington. And as soon as we drove in, it was like this, it's like a, like a magical place that had a mix of, like, Latino families, African American families, like, white working class American families - It was like, it was like being in the West Midlands. They had different accents and different languages, but we immediately were like, "Okay, what's this”, called the studio, they were like, "I'm not sure you wanna stay there. It's kind of a...". And we were like, "Don't worry about that, mate. From Charlie Victor One. We - we'll be all right."

Managed to find a house to rent. It was on Tropico Way, and as soon as we walked in, it was incredible. So Tropico Way in East LA is a street where, luckily, there was two Airbnbs available, but every - all of the houses were owned by people, you know? So it wasn't like a touristy, people in and out constantly. And I remember walking into this house; it had been done up beautifully, but my missus opened the cupboard, and she went, "This looks great; this is IKEA, and it's on discount." And I was like, "We gotta live here”, 'cause that's how we do it, right? With five kids, spending loads of money on a designer kitchen is pointless. You want something that's robust, that's got a 25-year warranty, that when it goes wrong will get fixed. So, you know, we were in this house on Tropico Way. It's got such amazing memories for us because it's the first time me and Deano with those four kids, had been away from the safety network of everybody we know and this super busy house, and it changed our understanding of what home is. So Tropico Way was beautiful, and I remember at the end of the project, I was like, "We should buy this." And she reminded me how much the house was, and I was like, "We can't buy this." But it taught us that home is kind of wherever we are, and after that, it was about five and a half month period of living in LA. The garden was incredible. So it overlooked...You know, LA kind of cascades, right? So Hollywood Hills, when you see it, is all a little bit pretentious and quite posh. This is like people having a barbecue over there, and you can see into that neighbour's garden. They're like, "Hey, what's going on, homie? What's going on? You still living here? Amazing to see you." And it was, like, incredible energies, where you'd look out, and you could see the landscape of LA at different levels, and someone's house is built on this little plot here. And it just taught us that, for the first time, especially living in England, where it rains a lot and it's quite cold, it's like, oh, no, we would like a house that f- like, all houses in LA that are built well do: they flow out. So you've got where you live internally, but it just seamlessly flows into your outdoor space 'cause the weather's good. So that's something me and Deano implemented in, like, the house that we've lived with and we've purchased since, which is getting that mix of both. 'Cause it's such a special, such a special thing, and we've, we've been so lucky to... It was LA, and we recently went to Tokyo and spent time there. We've spent time in the Middle East.

And you learn it's not necessarily about the house; it's about the people you take with you, and that's truly what, truly what home is. So yeah, I know a lot of people are like, "Isn't it mad that you, you guys keep travelling around the world with these five kids?" It's like, man, imagine if you'd have been too nervous, and I'd rejected that job 'cause it's like, ooh, LA, four kids, just me and Amerie. We've never done that before. We would've missed out on the life we live now. So yeah, it's just super grateful. Tropico has got amazing memories, and, and really taught us about how home is where your people are, and you can make it anywhere, you know?

Ella: That must be amazing for your kids as well to, to travel to those places, have those opportunities with you.

Guz Khan: You know, you'd hope. You'd hope. But kids are kids, eh. Do you know what I mean? Like, they want something that is a dream to me, and Deano becomes more... Yet they're so appreciative. They're great kids, but it's, you know, being in Tokyo; what I do love about that is that, you know, the homes that we're living in at the moment, they're too big. And what really cemented that is living in Tokyo for a month, because big is not a thing there. Culturally, living in a, a house that is maybe the size of this room here, still quite sizable, and I love that. So all of the Airbnbs that we kind of were living across were tiny comparatively to the houses that we live in. But my oldest and my second youngest, they were like, "Oh, no, this is actually cool." And then we're talking about, like, "Hey, when I'm eventually ready to find my own space, I'm gonna move to Tokyo because you can buy an abandoned haunted Akiya for, like, 11 grand." "I don't want that house in Cov. I don't want a house in LA." So it was really wicked to see how even already in their heads, they're thinking, "Hold on a minute. Do I wanna chase..." What, what's the median house price in London right now?

Matt: No idea, but it's massive.

Guz Khan: Massive, right? It's crazy. Whereas we went to Tokyo, and you can literally put roots down for like 10 grand. And it's not a cra- of course you'd have to put money into it and work on it and, you know. But it's amazing, like, when you travel the world, how much your eyes are open to what home actually is. What does it mean? Do I wanna spend 30 years of my life paying off this mortgage, or do I want freedom and flexibility, and still have a great home that's got, like, 100-year history in a place like Japan? So, if there's one thing I hope they learn, of course they enjoy running around and travelling, but they're picking up these things as they go along, which I think they are, so I think it's a good thing.

Ella: I guess as well, learning about how much is transferable. Like you were saying, when you got to LA, immediately you were like, "Oh, God, the culture's so different, and this is so not what I'm used to." But you're still able to find those pockets of, you know, people and places that you can relate to that you do feel at home with.

Guz Khan: Yeah. It's, you know, honestly, it's, it's brilliant you mention that, because it did teach me that, like, home is this energy. Home is this... It's not a physical place. And I think, at one time I used to be like, "I can't wait to get back to my bed." And I've kind of - that's something that's changed in my head, like, it - it's who you're with. And I, and I think for the kids, my mom, you know, being a sensible mom was like, "Your consistency's really important. They need to be..." And there's merit to that, for sure. Like, I get it. Like, knowing this is where I live and I go here is it. But, like, it's kinda tricky to- unless you're living it- it's hard to explain that, man. They could just be going solidly to this school every day throughout the academic year. And I'm sure there'll be really great benefits to it. But this thing that we're getting to live right now, I, I can see them, you know. As a parent, you can see them grow and flourish and speaking new languages. The baby, who's only, like, 14 months, was saying “arigato” before we left Tokyo. You know, like - yeah, yeah...you're not gonna get that in Cov. So, I, I just feel like everything that they're learning by being on the move with us, and seeing how hard it is, you know?

There's a lot of colleagues that I've got who work immensely hard - and then, like, they've been away from home for eight months. And it's kinda hard for your kids to see how much hard work went into it, because they're doing their daily routine. So we'll, we'll do it for as long as it works. And, you know, the, the kids as they get older, I'm sure they're gonna need to put, you know, some pegs in the ground and be like, "Yo, I wanna do this," or, "I wanna study that," or, "Go to uni." But right now it's...seems to be going well, I think. Yeah.

Matt: And we ... Like, we tend to wrap these up by asking people what home means to them, and you've answered that in about...15 really eloquent ways already, so I'm not gonna bother. But, like, I've absolutely loved this conversation. It's been a huge amount of fun and I've really enjoyed it.

Guz Khan: Thank you guys. And listen, like in terms of what you're, what you're doing here with the pod, it's like home is such an important thing. And hopefully people who listen are like, even if they don't have a place to call home, don't worry about it. It's who you're with, right? Is the most important thing, so.

Ella: 100%.

Matt: Amazing. Thank you.

Ella: Thank you.

Guz Khan: Thank you. Thank you.

Ending

Ella: What an episode. I thought he was fab. I mean, from the second he walked in, I was like, I know this is gonna be a great chat. I'm sad that we had to keep it moving.

Matt: Totally. I was like, "Oh, I've got to ask about the third property. I don't want to. This is going really well." Like, I just...Once we were going, we were going, and you don't need a format when somebody's just that engaged and engaging and, like, willing to share stuff with you.

Ella: And, you know, he had so much to say about finding community and speaking about what home meant to him was clearly so personal, and he was so enthusiastic to speak about it, and it was really nice and honestly was really easy. I kind of forgot we were interviewing him at one point.

Matt: It's a remarkable thing to...It's like he was talking about ability to sort of take home with you, and it's about people, and it's about energy and all of that. And you feel like while you're with him, that you're invited into that for a bit and you're part of it and you're just welcome.

Ella: I mean, it's starting to become a theme, I think, with a lot of these episodes. I'm like, "Oh, I think that was my favourite one yet." But-

Matt: Yeah. Yeah, it was just really, really, really enjoyable. I think there's something about just being wrapped up in somebody else's energy to that extent that is just infectious.

Ella: Yeah. A really fab episode. I'm sad we couldn't have gone on for longer.

Matt: I know. Loved it

Ella: Thanks, Guz, for being our guest today. And if you want to catch more of him, you can watch all five seasons of ‘Man Like Mobeen’ over on BBC iPlayer.

Matt: If you've enjoyed this episode, you can leave us a review or a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Come and find us on socials @homeagainpod and you can watch full episodes over on YouTube.

Ella: But for now, I'm Ella.

Matt: I've been Matt.

Ella: And you've been listening to Home Again, a podcast brought to you by SpareRoom. Thanks so much.

Matt: See ya.