REGULAR viewers of Granada's "The Bill" have been gripped by the current plot about race riots at Sun Hill.

At the forefront of the drama, as an Asian activist kicking back at the racists terrorising the area, is a Bolton actor.

Navid Naqvi, aged 24, uses the stage name Irvine Iqbal as a combination of his British upbringing and his Asian heritage.

He grew up in Bolton and decided to become an actor at the age of eight after performing in school musicals at Rossall School, Fleetwood.

His family -- he is the son of Bolton doctors Ushi and Naseem Naqvi who live in the Heaton area -- have always been supportive of his ambitions.

His training as a drama undergraduate at Brunel University and then a year at London's prestigious Royal Academy is beginning to pay off with his recent appearances in The Bill.

He has also been in "Casualty" and "Doctors", and has also secured a part in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production, "Bombay Dreams", in London's West End -- after 10 rigorous auditions lasting a year.

Although pleased with his recent success, Iqbal becomes outspoken when quizzed about his position as a young Asian actor in Britain.

He points out that although Asians form the country's largest ethnic minority, film and television feature very few Asian characters.

It is only in the last few years that an Asian family has featured in a soap opera, and there is a tendency for actors to be cast as shopkeepers or market traders, such as Dev in Coronation Street.

Until now there have been few parts for Asian actors in the West End, but Iqbal asserts that the culture, stories and talent have been there all along.

"And Bollywood is the biggest film industry in the world," he added.

He welcomes positive handling of ethnic situations, however.

The Bill's exploration of racial tension in the wake of the riots in Oldham and Bradford can be seen as an example of television tackling cultural issues responsibly, according to Iqbal.

Continually casting Asian actors as violent racial aggressors, however, is not going to make racists more tolerant, he claims.

This is why Iqbal wants to secure future roles where his race is not an issue, and ultimately wants to be known as a good actor, not a good Asian actor.

We are all culturally different, but if race is always an issue then we run the risk of racism," he maintains. "Films such as 'East is East' and 'Monsoon Wedding' have educated Britain, but I would like to see more Asian actors doing Shakespeare, for example."

Love of acting also means he wants different roles, and he would eventually like to go to Hollywood. "I would love to make my mark as a young Western Asian actor in the States," he says.