Tv Doctor and Game of Thrones actor honoured at University of Bradford

The University of Bradford summer graduation ceremonies have taken place from 18-22 July, celebrating the success of students as well as a selection of honorary graduates.

With the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies taking place virtually, 2022 has seen in-person celebrations return, with graduates from the previous two years invited to don their robes on campus and receive their award in the Great Hall.

The University welcomed over 5,500 guests to campus, with over 3,000 students receiving their awards over the course of the week. Students and their guests were treated to a taste of summer to go with the record-breaking temperatures, with thousands of pots of strawberries and cream being served alongside the traditional celebratory fizz.

Honorary graduates from 2020, 2021 and 2022 also received their award, including TV Doctor Amir Khan and Bradford-born Game of Thrones actor Enzo Cilenti.

As well as his work on ITV hit shows Lorraine, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, Dr Amir Khan – who in 2018 was named GP Trainer of the Year by the Royal College of General Practitioners – is an NHS doctor based in Bradford, a published author and an Ambassador for both the National Wildlife Trust and the Butterfly Conservation Society.

He is also a lecturer at the University of Leeds School of Medicine, and the University of Bradford, and took great pride in being part of a graduation ceremony: “I teach students at the University, and see them on placement, then the next time I see them is as a colleague, so it’s really nice to see this part of their journey and see the excitement.”

Bradford-born to Italian parents, actor Enzo Cilenti boasts an impressive international career in film, tv and theatre acting, producing directing which has spanned over 20 years.

His acting credits include Game of Thrones, Spooks, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Theory of Everything, in which he portrayed Nobel Prize-winning physicist Kip Thorne.

Commenting on his doctorate, he said: “There are two pieces of advice I would give to graduates. The first is: make hay while the sun shines, which I think is true in pretty much every walk of life; and the second is that life is a marathon, not a race, and to just urge them to keep going.”

An active supporter of Parkinson’s UK, in 2015 Enzo took on the legendary Mont Ventoux on a tandem with his father, who has Parkinson’s. The charity named him as their Champion of Cycling, and Enzo is passionate about encouraging people to get out on their bikes to raise vital funds.