Nelufar Hedayat

Nelufar Hedayat
Hedayat at Doha Debates
Born (1988-01-01) 1 January 1988
Kabul, Republic of Afghanistan
Other nameNel
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • Afghanistan
EducationUniversity of Westminster
OccupationsJournalist, correspondent, Presenter
Years active2010–present

Nelufar Hedayat is a British-Afghan[1] broadcast journalist, documentary presenter, and director. She has reported, produced, and presented international documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Fusion TV, Netflix, PBS, Scripps News, Rakuten TV, and National Geographic. Hedayat is known for fronting investigative and current affairs programmes including The Traffickers (2016), Food Exposed (2018), Generation C (2020–2025), and Plastic Time Bomb (2023), the latter of which won a National News & Documentary Emmy Award. Her work has covered global issues such as conflict, climate change, human rights, and cultural heritage, and has been recognised with awards including a Gracie Award and the British Asian Media Awards.

Early life

Hedayat was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and fled the country with her family during the civil war. They sought asylum in the United Kingdom when she was a child, settling in north London.[2] She has spoken publicly about her experiences as a refugee and how they shaped her interest in journalism, and has said: "As a refugee I felt compelled to tell the stories that were surrounding me."[3] Hedayat is of Kashmiri background.

Career

Hedayat began her career with the BBC, presenting and reporting on current affairs documentaries for BBC Three, CBBC Newsround and Channel 4. Her early works include presenting Women, Weddings, War and Me (2010, directed by Ruhi Hamid), Music, Money & Hip Hop Honeys (2011) and Riots and Revolutions: My Arab Spring Journey (2012).[4][5] She later reported on international documentaries such as The Children of Kabul: An Uncertain Future (2014), Vietnam's Dog Snatchers (2014) and Vaccination Wars (2015).

In 2016, she presented The Traffickers, an eight-part investigative series for Fusion TV, Netflix and Fremantle Media, which explored global smuggling networks and won Journalist of the Year and Best Investigation at the British Asian Media Awards.[6][7] For her work on the series, she won the 2017 Reporter/Correspondent Gracie Award (presented by the Alliance for Women in Media),[8] and was named Journalist of the Year at the Asian Media Awards.[9][10]

She went on to host Food Exposed with Nelufar Hedayat (2018), an environmental and food documentary series, before presenting Flash Forward (Rakuten, 2021), a science and technology docuseries.[11][12]

From 2020 to 2025, she executive produced and hosted Generation C: Rising Up in a Changed World, a four-part series examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people.[13][14][4]

Her subsequent work with Scripps International included producing and directing The God Thieves (2022), which investigated the illicit trade in cultural artifacts,[15] and Plastic Time Bomb (2023), a science documentary that won the National News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Science, Technology or Environmental Coverage.[16][17]

She also co-directed Culture’s Climate Crisis (2024), filmed across Tanzania and Alaska,[18] and Museum on Fire (2025) for PBS and Scripps, which documented threats to UNESCO world heritage sites.[19][20]

In 2025, she produced Binni's Blades, an observational documentary set in Birmingham, and began working as a Development Producer for Firecrest Films and Channel 4.

Awards

  • 2023 – News & Documentary Emmy Award: Plastic Time Bomb (Scripps News)[21][22]
  • 2016 – British Asian Media Awards: Journalist of the Year; Best Investigation (for The Traffickers)[6]
  • 2017 – Gracie Award, Reporter/Correspondent (Local or National TV)[23]
  • 2010 – Broadcast Digital Award: Women, Weddings, War and Me (BBC Three)[24]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleBroadcaster / Distributor
2010Women, Weddings, War and MePresenterBBC Three
2011Music, Money & Hip Hop HoneysPresenterBBC Three
2012Riots and Revolutions: My Arab Spring JourneyPresenterBBC Three
2013Shot for Going to SchoolReporterBBC Three
2014The Children of Kabul: An Uncertain FuturePresenterCBBC Newsround
2014Vietnam's Dog SnatchersReporterChannel 4
2015Vaccination WarsReporterChannel 4
2016The Naked Truth: Standing RockReporterFusion TV
2016The TraffickersPresenterFusion TV / Netflix / Fremantle
2017The Naked Truth: Black Mama’s Matter/Death by DeliveryPresenterFusion TV
2018Food Exposed with Nelufar HedayatPresenter & Co-producerFusion TV / Fremantle
2018India’s Love Cheat DetectivesReporterChannel 4
2019The Story of GodContributorNational Geographic / Netflix
2020Criminal Planet: Toxic MafiaReporterViceland / Channel 4
2020–2025Generation C: Rising Up in a Changed WorldExecutive Producer & PresenterSVT / Storyfire
2021Flash ForwardPresenterRakuten TV
2022The God ThievesProducer & Co-directorScripps / Newsy
2023Plastic Time BombProducer & DirectorScripps / Newsy
2023Safety Versus Freedom in El SalvadorCorrespondentScripps Longform
2024Culture’s Climate CrisisProducer & Co-directorScripps International
2025Pilgrimage (TV series)[25][26]PilgrimBBC
2025Museum on FireCo-director & CorrespondentPBS / Scripps
2025Binni’s BladesProducer & DirectorUK (independent/Scripps)

Podcasts

Year(s)TitleRolePlatform
2019–2021Course CorrectionHost & WriterDoha Debates

References

  1. ↑ Hedayat, Nelufar. "My Refugee Story: The toughest conversation I've ever had with my mom". Doha Debates. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Afghan women: 'The Taliban took away my childhood'". The Guardian. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Rahman, Samia (July 2025). "Profiles | Nelufar Hedayat - Documentary Filmmaker, Producer, Director". In Hamid, Rizwana (ed.). Muslim Women in Media: Breaking the Barriers, Bearing the Burden (PDF). Centre for Media Monitoring. p. 79.
  4. 1 2 Whittock, Jesse (6 June 2025). "Nelufar Hedayat's Doc Series 'Generation C' Picked Up By Espresso Media International Ahead Of Sunny Side". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Riots and Revolutions: My Arab Journey". BBC Three | Blog. March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 "The Traffickers". Lightbox Entertainment. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Hedayat, Nelufar (14 November 2016). "A Muslim TV Host in the Age of Trump: 'Now Is the Time to Act'". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "The 42nd Annual Gracie Awards - Red Carpet". GettyImages. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020.
  9. ↑ Williams, Kam (9 May 2018). "Nelufar Hedayat: Mademoiselle Nel!". The Aquarian. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Begum, Shelina (26 October 2017). "Asian Media Awards 2017 winners revealed". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Fanjul, Santiago (22 November 2021). "'Flash Forward': The four future issues we must start worrying about today". El País. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Rakuten TV Unveils Original Docuseries Flash Forward". VideoAge International. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Espresso Media acquires AR-style series Generation C from journalist Nelufar Hedayat". Señal News. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Generation C". Espresso Media International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "In Real Life (series overview)". Scripps International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Scripps News Grabs First News Emmy". NextTV. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Scripps News wins first national News Emmy Award". The E.W. Scripps Company (Press release). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "In Real Life". Scripps International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Museum on Fire – Documentary premiere and panel discussion". Eventbrite. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Museum on Fire". YouTube. 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Scripps News Grabs First News Emmy". NextTV. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Scripps News wins first national News Emmy Award". The E.W. Scripps Company (Press release). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Announces 42nd Annual Gracie Award Winners". PR Newswire (Press release). 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  24. ↑ Cohen, Danny (18 June 2010). "BBC Three wins at the Broadcast Digital Awards". BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Seven celebrities take a Pilgrimage through the Austrian and Swiss Alps for brand new BBC Two and iPlayer series". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  26. ↑ Hibbs, James (17 March 2025). "Pilgrimage confirms 2025 celebs including Jeff Brazier and Helen Lederer in first look". www.radiotimes.com/tv. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
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