Ash Atalla (born 18 June 1972) is an Egyptian-born British television producer. He has produced several British TV series such as The Office, The IT Crowd, Man Stroke Woman and People Just Do Nothing. He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais's Politics. Atalla was born into a middle-class family in Cairo. He developed polio as a baby and uses a wheelchair. He emigrated to London due to his father's job. He read business and finance at the University of Bath. He briefly worked as a stockbroker and a currency trader before, at 22, he found unpaid work on BBC Watchdog. Atalla made his first appearance on TV in 1999 when he co-presented a Channel 4 series on disability, Freak Out. In 2001, he produced the sitcom The Office. Atalla joined the production company Talkback Thames in 2004 as Head of Comedy and produced both the science spoof Look Around You for BBC2, and the third series of Bo Selecta! In 2005 he devised and began work on Man Stroke Woman, a comedy sketch show about "growing up" which aired from 2005 to 2007. He also produced The IT Crowd (2006-2010). In 2007, Atalla set up Roughcut TV, an independent production company. Atalla and Roughcut produced Trinity for ITV2 in 2008. Roughcut TV has since produced shows for all the UK's major broadcasters, including Trollied (Sky 1), Cuckoo (BBC Three), World's Craziest Fools - starring Mr. T (BBC Three), Anna & Katy (Channel 4), People Just Do Nothing (BBC Three), Mad Mad World (ITV 1) and Top Coppers (BBC Three). He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais' Politics.
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 18, 1972 (54)
- Cairo, Egypt
- Producer and actor
- 7 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are Ash Atalla's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ash Atalla's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Ash Atalla's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
15 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Little Disasters(2025)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
We Might Regret This (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Coma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Things You Should Have Done (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Big Boys(2022)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Kurupting the Industry: The People Just Do Nothing Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
The Exchange(2021)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Love the Sinner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Jerk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Stath Lets Flats(2018)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Trollied (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
The IT Crowd(2006)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Man Stroke Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Office(2001)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 13 titles from 2001 to 2025.
Biggest box office
People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan (2021)
Highest rated
Big Boys (2022)
Most popular right now
The Office (2001)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
5 BAFTA Awards from 13 major nominations, 2002–2026.
- BAFTA Award, nominated ×2 · Scripted Comedy
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Scripted Comedy
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Scripted Comedy
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Scripted Comedy
- BAFTA Award, won · Scripted Comedy
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Situation Comedy
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Situation Comedy
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Situation Comedy
Show 4 earlier yearsShow fewer
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Made for Television Movie
- BAFTA Award, won · Situation Comedy Award
- BAFTA Award, won · Situation Comedy Award
- BAFTA Award, won · Situation Comedy Award
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Ash Atalla's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 56th percentile, the median of all 2; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 7 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ash Atalla's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Ash Atalla work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ash Atalla's MovieCove titles; Robert Gilbert shares the most, 2.
- Robert GilbertShared titles: Little Disasters (2025), Big Boys (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Gilbert
- Tim SealeyShared titles: People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan (2021), The Exchange (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Tim Sealey