| Zubin Khan | |
|---|---|
| Holby City character | |
 Art Malik as Zubin Khan | |
| First appearance | "Private Lives" 17 June 2003 |
| Last appearance | "Days of Repentance" 4 October 2005 |
| Created by | Mal Young |
| Portrayed by | Art Malik |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation |
|
| Significant other | Jess Griffin |
| Religion | Muslim |
Zubin Khan is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor Art Malik. He first appeared in the series five episode "Private Lives", broadcast on 17 June 2003. Zubin arrives at Holby City hospital as a consultant anaesthetist. The BBC's drama controller Mal Young approached Malik with the offer of joining the show. He let Malik have control over Zubin's characterisation and as a result Zubin became a Muslim man with an "honourable" persona. The actor also accepted the role because he believed that Holby City positively featured many multiracial characters. To prepare for the role Malik consulted with his real-life family of surgeons and took work experience in a hospital.
Writers planned a series of dramatic affairs for the character, the first being with patient Elizabeth Woods (Emma Samms) who is also married. She becomes obsessed with Zubin, stalks him, and makes a false sexual assault allegation against him. He then proves his innocence and writers developed an "illicit affair" with nurse Jess Griffin (Verona Joseph). She is twenty years younger and also his best friend's daughter. Writers created special episodes featuring them falling in love in Paris, which were filmed on a two-week location shoot. They keep their relationship a secret and Jess becomes pregnant. She dates Senior House Officer Sean Thompson (Chinna Wodu) and pretends the baby is his. The truth eventually comes out and he and Jess get together. Other stories include Zubin being promoted as the head of the hospital's intensive care unit. When Malik decided to leave the show in 2005, Zubin's final episodes saw him investigated over a patient's death and moving to live in the United States. His final appearance occurred in the episode titled "Days of Repentance", which aired on 4 October 2005.
For his portrayal of Zubin, Malik won the "Best TV Actor" award at the 2004 Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards. The introduction of Zubin proved popular with critics of the genre, while many others opined that the character had assumed the role as Holby City's "heart-throb" archetype.