Sanjeev Bhaskar joins Nicola Walker’s The Split spin-off The Split Up but could he reunite with his former Unforgotten co-star?
Sanjeev Bhaskar plays Dhruv Kishan in BBC The Split Up. (Image: BBC)
Sanjeev Bhaskar is heading up BBC’s next big legal drama tonight with fans keen to know all there is about his personal life.
The Split Up debuts tonight, Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, on BBC One, delving into the Kishan family’s life as Manchester’s elite law firm.
Founder of Kishan Law is father-of-three Dhruv Kishan who is having doubts about leaving his business in his daughter’s hands following the death of her mother.
With The Split fans gearing up to tune into its BBC spin-off, here’s everything there is to know about leading man Sanjeev Bhaskar.
Inside The Split Up star Sanjeev Bhaskar’s life
Early life
Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar was born in Ealing in 1963 after his parents fled their home during the 1947 partition of India and moved to the UK.
He studied business with marketing at Hatfield Polytechnic and worked in marketing before getting into the entertainment industry in his early 30s.
Sanjeev got his breakthrough with the musical comedy double act Secret Asians with Nitin Sawhney which led to the BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
Sanjeev Bhaskar’s famous wife
The Split Up star Sanjeev Bhaskar is married to actress and comedian Dame Meera Syal who he met on Goodness Gracious Me which she co-created
They once again starred opposite each other in the sitcom The Kumars at No 42 where she played the grandmother of Sanjeev’s character, despite being younger than him.
The pair got married in 2005 and Sanjeev became the step-father to Meera’s daughter Milli from another relationship before welcoming son Shaan later that year.
In 2023, Meera received the BAFTA Fellowship award for her outstanding contributions to TV and film and was made a Dame last year for her services to drama, literature and charity.
In an interview with The Times, Sanjeev shared that he was “super proud” of his wife’s achievements.
Unforgotten season 7 update
Sanjeev will reprise his role as DI Sunny Khan in the seventh season of ITV ’s Unforgotten, now starring alongside Sinead Keenan as DCI Jess James.
Filming for the latest series began in January 2026 and recent reports have suggested that shooting is now complete, although an official return date hasn’t been confirmed.
Sanjeev is starring in BBC The Split Up, the spin-off of The Split which starred his former Unforgotten co-star Nicola Walker.
Speaking of his hopes that there could one day be an onscreen reunion to Radio Times, Sanjeev said: “Emotionally, it would be like some sort of cosmic miracle. I wouldn’t mind it at all.”
Sanjeev Bhaskar net worth
It has been widely reported that Sanjeev Bhaskar has a net worth of around £2 million.
This brings into consideration his almost 30-year career in the entertainment industry as an actor, writer and comedian.
He continues to be a major star in the ITV hit drama Unforgotten and has a star-studded comedy film on the way called The Entertainment System Is Down.
The feature is expected to star major names including Keanu Reeves, Samantha Morton, Kirsten Dunst, Tobias Menzies and Connor Swindells.
The Split Up debuts tonight, Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.