BBC reality show has made my family ‘closer’, says Amir Khan

Amir Khan has said a new BBC reality series about his family life has “brought us closer”. Meet The Khans: Big In Bolton follows the professional boxer’s home life with wife Faryal Makhdoom and their three children.

The series begins on BBC One on Monday. Khan said: “I think it has brought us closer and also has made us realise how much we need one another.” He said the series will show how “strong” his family unit is.

“For us, I think it is amazing because it helps us engage with our fans and give them a chance to see the real side of us,” he said. Khan said he has had “so many opportunities” to leave Bolton.

“But something for some reason brings me back to Bolton, because my career started off here and the love I have got from the community here, it’s very hard for me to leave,” he said. “I’ve got the boxing academy here where I’m teaching so many kids boxing and we are going to create some champions and Olympians.”

Makhdoom, who was born in the US, added that she “loves” England. “I don’t think I could ever go back and live in the States,” she added. Makhdoom said the couple tried to act natural for the cameras during filming.

“It’s not up to us to tell people what to think, but in the show we are completely honest,” she said. “We can’t really apologise for who we are, we are just going to be ourselves whether anyone likes it or not.”

In February last year Khan and Makhdoom welcomed their third child, a son called Muhammad Zaviyar Khan. The pair also have two daughters — Lamaisah, who was born in 2014, and Alayna, who was born in 2018.

Khan and Makhdoom married in 2013 although they briefly split around 2017 before reconciling. Meet The Khans: Big In Bolton airs on Monday at 10.45pm on BBC One and will also be available on iPlayer from Sunday