Alesha Dixon’s golden buzzer act on Britain’s Got Talent has opened up about his life in drugs and imprisonment after being busted by police.
Nabil Abdulrashid brought the laughs to the BGT stage on Saturday and the 34-year-old comedian was sent straight through to the live shows after Alesha loved his act.
The ITV talent show judge described him as "edgy, charismatic. I loved it," which completed a huge turnaround in Nabil's life.
The Sun has reported that he was sentenced in 2005 to three years in prison after being convicted for a drugs offence.
Nabil soon saw the error of his ways and set about heading on a path to redemption that saw him serve only half his term after being released due to good behaviour.
Now he helps vulnerable youths and the homeless as he looks to use his experience for good, raising over £2 million for charity as part of a comedy tour he was on with others.
Speaking about his formative years, Nabil said: “I found myself in the wrong crowd.
“I was still quite young, much younger than the people I was around and what I thought was friendship was really me being pushed to do stuff that I didn’t want and shouldn’t do and I ended up making mistakes that sent me to prison."
Speaking about what put him inside, the Muslim comedian said: "It was a controlled substance charge. I had some stuff on me that I shouldn’t have had.
"I was naive at the time and also isolated, I was in a bad place and that’s the case for a lot of young people today."
With his life back on track, Nabil is hoping the golden buzzer will help propel him to national stardom, though admits that his comedy can be misinterpreted and that there may be a backlash against his past.
Nabil admits: “I use satire when I speak to ignorant, racist or homophobic people – because they don’t listen to rational.
"And sometimes my satire can be misinterpreted, especially if you aren’t accustomed with my type of comedy."
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