Slow Horses Star Nick Mohammed Finally Breaks Silence On Inevitable Comparisons To Sadiq Khan
“Can you tell I’ve been briefed?” The wink‑and‑nod crack turned a routine appearance into a telling moment, underscoring how tightly scripted the message has become as the stakes rise.
Slow Horses is back with a little extra chaos in the mix: Ted Lasso alum Nick Mohammed is joining season 5 as the Mayor of London. Yes, the show is diving straight into a mayoral election storyline, which feels a little too on the nose for modern London. And Mohammed knows exactly what that sounds like.
Nick Mohammed is playing Mayor Zahar Jaffrey
Mohammed turns up in season 5 as Zahar Jaffrey, the sitting Mayor of London, right as the show throws the city into election season. Speaking at a BFI screening and Q&A hosted by Radio Times, he more or less pre-empted the question on everyone’s mind: is this a riff on Sadiq Khan? He said comparisons are inevitable, but the character is not based on one person.
According to Mohammed, the scripts were written a while back, which makes it a bit grim that elements now feel uncomfortably current. His take on Jaffrey: left-leaning, yes, but absolutely not above vanity. He grandstands, loves the sound of his own voice, grabs any advantage he can, and will happily rack up political points. In other words, a polished operator with plenty of flaws. Mohammed calls him dynamic and complicated, basically an amalgam of different political types rather than a one-for-one portrait.
"Can you tell I’ve been briefed?"
That was Mohammed’s own wink to the room after unpacking the character. Inside baseball, sure, but it tracks with Slow Horses’ habit of nudging real-world politics without naming names.
Who else is new, and who’s back
Another fresh face this season: Hiba Bennani as Tara, the very glamorous new girlfriend of resident tech gremlin Roddy Ho. And the rest of the Slough House regulars are back in the mud where they belong. This is the lot:
- New: Nick Mohammed as Mayor Zahar Jaffrey; Hiba Bennani as Tara, Roddy Ho’s new girlfriend
- Returning: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christopher Chung, Saskia Reeves, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Tom Brooke, James Callis, and more
Expect some key scenes between Jack Lowden and Aimee-Ffion Edwards this season. Edwards has said Shirley’s relationship with River becomes a big deal in these new episodes, which should make for some intriguing character mess to go with the espionage mess.
For anyone keeping score at home: the series has never shied away from pulling the rug out from under its own cast, and the author behind the books has flat-out said those shocking deaths are necessary. So, you know, do not get too comfortable.
When and where to watch
Slow Horses season 5 drops September 25, 2025 on Apple TV+.