Young actor Sacha Dhawan may have become the first British Asian actor to be nominated for an RTS award, given out next week.

His nomination for the Breakthrough on Screen Award comes for Bradford Riots, which was broadcast last year on Channel 4. The drama was itself nominated for a Best TV Award at The South Bank Awards recently.

Its writer and director Neil Biswas told AIM magazine: "The South Bank Award nomination was fantastic for us as it was for Best TV Drama, and only two other dramas were nominated. Ours was the only drama nominated from Channel 4 - and all in all - it felt as if we were nominated for both boldness of our subject matter, as well as the artistic skill and professionalism with which we made the programme."

It has since gone on to international film festivals such as the Geneva Film Festival where it won the Prix Aujourd'hui strand.

He added: "For me all of the subsequent recognition the programme has recieved has been a great vindication for all the effort it took to make the drama. Yet the fact that two million people watched it on tv... is what really makes me happy as it means that it has played a part in changing people's perceptions. I honestly believe that the British Media will now reconsider how it looks back on the riots."

Sacha Dhawan (pictured) first came to prominence as Akhtar in the West-end theatre production The History Boys. That went on to tour New York's Broadway, Sidney, Wellington and Hong Kong and was later made into a film starring him. He also had a part in the stage version of East is East.

He has made a number of television appearances on shows including Perfectly Frank, Weirdsister College, Altogether Now, City Central, The Last Train and Out of Sight.

Sacha Dhawan told AIM magazine: "It's an honour that my work has been recognised. I think this is much to Neil Biswas’s credit for creating such an important project. It strives not to represent a community, but to represent the individuality that exists within a community. And that means a lot to me, especially in today’s current climate."

"With that in mind, the nomination for me, is really a celebration of this. The nomination is a stepping stone that can only give me confidence to grow stronger as a performer. More importantly, give confidence to an industry that have often employed actors, like myself, as necessity, not for their versatility."

The Royal Television Society Awards are on March 13th.

Sacha will be playing the lead role in a new film directed by Denis Tanovic, who won an Oscar for his last film No Man's Land, set in India. Neil Biswas is working on another film for Film 4 and a drama for Channel 4 but declined to reveal more.