UK-based Gambian actor, Babou Ceesay recently made history, becoming the first ever Gambian to be nominated for a BAFTA TV Awards - the British counterpart to the American Academy Awards.

Although he lost out on winning the hotly contested prize, the Gambian community in the United Kingdom were proud of his accomplishment.

According to media reports, he was nominated in the Leading Actor category for his role as Richard Taylor in BBC’s Damilola, Our Love Boy.

Speaking to Shadow And Act shortly after his nomination, Babou said: “I think it was overwhelming. I ended up not knowing what to do for five minutes. I called my wife and said “hey, guess what?” And she screamed for me, which was amazing.”

Babou, who was born in England but grew up in The Gambia, is one of the few black actors that landed big roles in major movies and TV series.

“He’s well known here in the UK,” said a Gambian living in London.

The famous actor studied Microbiology at Imperial College and briefly worked as an Internal Auditor at the accounting form, Deloitte, before foraying into acting.