Rajesh Kumar Jhanji (born 24 February 1970), known professionally as Raji James, is a British actor, known for his roles as Ash Ferreira in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', DS Vik Singh in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and Ali Shahzad in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

''. He also played Abdul Khan in the 1999 film '' East Is East''.Raji James - TV
From 2007 to 2008, he starred in ''The Ray Peacock Podcast''.

Career

James has featured as regular characters in ITV's ''

'' (as DS Vik Singh, 2000–2002) and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

'' (as Ash Ferreira, 2003–2005). He has also had guest star roles in '' Crocodile Shoes'', '' Waking the Dead'' and in the 2006 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episodes "

Army of Ghosts "Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' which was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 July 2006. It is the first episode of a two-part story; th ...

" and "

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

". He went on to appear as Prince Malik in the 2006 BBC adaptation of ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' (episode 10 - '' Peace? Off!''), and starred as Dr Joe Mangeshkar in the thirteen part Australian TV series ''

Kick A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

'' (2007). Additional lead guest roles include '' Waking the Dead'', '' Murder in Mind'', ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', ''

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mo ...

'', '' The Knock'', ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

'', and ''Heaven on Earth'' as well as another series lead role in HTV’s '' Nuts and Bolts'' (2002). Most recently he played a recurring role in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' (2019). From Sep 2021, James has portrayed the role of Ali Shahzad in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

soap opera ''

''. In film, James played Abdul Khan in '' East Is East'' (1999). He also appeared as Anil in '' Provoked'' – a true story (2006) and Sanjay Khanna in '' Nina’s Heavenly Delights'' (2006).Raji James @ Curtis Brown
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Personal life

James grew up in the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

suburb of

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove ex ...

, attending what was at the time City of Portsmouth Boys Comprehensive, later attending Portsmouth College. James went on to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. In 2007, he started a club night, ''Benders'', with ''EastEnders'' co-star Ameet Chana., accessed 29 December 2010.

References

External links

* Living people 1970 births Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama 21st-century British male actors English male soap opera actors English people of Indian descent Male actors from Hampshire People from Havant Actors from the Borough of Havant {{UK-tv-actor-stub