He was tall. He was charismatic. He was, in every way, the boy next door. Except he wasn’t. He was Ali G.
And when he bounded into our office on the 22nd floor of One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, he made more than just a lasting impression. He was iconic.
Sacha Baron Cohen raised smiles from even the staunchest news hacks when he emerged from the lift, flanked by his PR team and dressed in the costume of his other famous alter ego – Borat. The beige suit, tick. The heavy moustache, tick. That mischievous smile, tick.
It was 2006, and Borat had just been unleashed on the world, catapulting Sacha to global stardom with comedy that was close to the bone, chaotic and infectious. At the Daily Mirror, we were lucky enough to welcome celebrities from the worlds of sport, music and cinema into our office to guest-edit the world-famous 3am showbiz column. They ranged from the Spice Girls and David Hasselhoff to Naomi Campbell and One Direction. This time, it was Sacha’s turn to become a journalist for the day: answering the phones, curating the news list and helping to set the agenda.
In those days, we had a hotline people could call with tips and celebrity gossip. Our photographer would be ready and waiting to capture candid and comic shots as each A-lister made themselves at home.
Those were the days of old-school journalism, before TikTok and Instagram, when stars were far less accessible and readers often turned to our column for up-to-date celebrity news. A few stars even called the 3am hotline themselves to argue with us about their antics at a party the previous night. It was wild.
Our celebrity guest editors would often be invited into the morning conference to sit with the editor and the paper’s top brass as they discussed the day’s news agenda. It was buzzing, fast-paced and unforgettable.
Sacha quickly made himself at home, putting his feet up on the desk and remaining in character as Borat throughout. Even when he tottered past the fashion cupboard to greet the stylists, his mannerisms alone had them in stitches.
It was a sharp contrast with the first time I had met him. That was when I realised he really was the boy next door: chatty, down-to-earth and instantly welcoming.
We met at an intimate Stevie Wonder concert at Abbey Road Studios in November 2005. We were among around only 100 people who had the chance to see the legend perform at close quarters. Sacha seemed like a mere mortal, just like the rest of us: giddy as he waited for Stevie to begin and equally entranced when he serenaded us with timeless hits including Superstition and Isn’t She Lovely.
I had been intrigued to discover what the real Sacha was like, stripped of his characters, and was surprised by how different he seemed from the bold and boisterous Ali G I had been glued to my television watching every week at university.
Ali G had first appeared in 1998 as the self-proclaimed “voice of da yoof” on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show. The streetwise rapper and journalist from Staines went on to become the title character of Da Ali G Show and the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse.
He famously interviewed stars including David and Victoria Beckham, quizzing them about where their son Brooklyn had been conceived in a clip that has since gone viral. He often conducted interviews with unsuspecting subjects who did not realise they were being set up.
His interview with Donald Trump also hit the headlines after he proposed to the then Apprentice star an idea for an ice cream that did not melt.
It is hardly surprising, then, that in a 2001 Channel 4 poll, Ali G was ranked eighth on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
So when I heard that the Oscar-nominated actor, now 54, was dusting off his beanie and regrowing his goatee to reprise the role, I was over the moon – and intrigued to see how he would pull it off after so many years.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Baron Cohen had completed filming an as-yet-untitled Ali G movie, which would mark the character’s first appearance on the big screen in 24 years. According to the media blog The InSneider, he was spotted filming as Ali G around Oxfordshire in July and September 2025.
Then, over the previous weekend, Sacha appeared to confirm the character’s return, launching an official Ali G Instagram account and sharing a video of himself in the stands during the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
It seems Cohen wasted no time getting back into the, er, swing of things.
In the clip, Ali describes tennis as “the crap version of ping-pong” before joking about his intention to sell as much weed as possible during the match.
He captioned the video: “And if u iz at dis borin wimbledore final lookin 2 get grand slammed, I iz here wif de hookup.”
Almost a year after the reported filming, Ali G has now made his very public comeback – complete with a joke about Prince Harry.
From actual royalty to Hollywood royalty, nobody is off limits. Ali G iz back, and I couldn’t be happier.
Sarah Tetteh is an award-winning journalist and presenter
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