Youssef Kerkour, one of the stars of C4 comedy Home, and Tim Renkow, stand-up and star of BBC comedy Jerk, have both been named in the Bafta Breakthrough UK list for 2020.

They were selected by a jury including Amma Asante, Edward Enninful, Melissa Johns and Fiona Shaw. 

Breakthrough identifies the most exciting new talent coming up in the film, games and television industries and gives them access to unique career development and mentoring opportunities. BAFTA gives talented individuals bespoke support at their critical ‘breakthrough’ career moment, enabling them to build on their success and ensuring their continued development in their chosen field.

Youssef Kerkour might not have followed his dream of being an actor if it hadn’t been for teachers at school and university who told him that he absolutely must explore acting as a profession. An uphill struggle lay ahead as Youssef moved to the US - highlights include playing Elvis in Steve Martin’s Picasso, but he was also often cast in stereotypical roles as terrorists or victims. He feels that joining the RSC and staying with them for five years marked a real change in him and he left a very different actor, making his namein the UK with Home. He has also appeared in Gavin and Stacey, Dracula and Baghdad Central. 

Renkow's comedy Jerk was based on a fictionalised version of Tim. It came about because his friend, writer and producer Stu Richards, applied for a job where he had to create a treatment for a show, and made Tim the subject. Stu didn’t get the job but did manage to get Jerk commissioned. Tim suddenly realised that he was going to have to act and, ever the entertainer, used his stand up skills to round out the onscreen persona. 

See the full list of Bafta Breakthrough names here.