Davood Ghadami (; born 13 June 1982) is a British actor. Following his appearances in ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'' in 2010, he appeared in 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 ...

medical programmes ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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'' in recurring roles. In 2014, he began portraying the role of Kush Kazemi in the BBC soap opera ''

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 ...

'', a role he stayed in until 2021 when the character was killed off. Following Ghadami's departure from ''EastEnders'', it was announced that he had joined the cast of the BBC medical drama ''

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 '' ...

'' as Eli Ebrahimi.

Early and personal life

Ghadami was born on 7 August 1982 in Harlow, Essex. He is of

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

and English heritage. He found it difficult at school, since being mixed race led to verbal bullying. He subsequently moved to Saint Nicholas School in Old Harlow. In 2010, Ghadami married long-term girlfriend Isobel; the pair have two daughters together. Ghadami announced on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

in 2025 that he and his wife had separated in 2023.

Career

In 2010, Ghadami portrayed the role of Duncan Clark in the final series of the ITV detective drama ''

''. He found the role challenging, since it involved looking at photos of genuine crime scenes. Following this, he appeared in the

soap opera ''

'' in the recurring role of Aran Chandar from 2012 to 2013. From 2013 to 2014, he appeared in the BBC medical drama ''

'' as Ramin Tehrani. Other television credits include '' Life's Too Short'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', '' Skins Redux'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Top Boy ''Top Boy'' is a British crime drama thriller (genre), thriller television series created and written by Ronan Bennett. The series is set on the fictional Summerhouse Housing estate, estate in the London Borough of Hackney. It focuses on two d ...

'', '' Fast Freddie'', ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'', ''

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

'' and '' Spooks''. On stage, he has played Amir in ''13'' at The National, as well as working for

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

and Pilot Theatre. In 2014, Ghadami joined the cast of ''

'' as series regular Kush Kazemi, for which he won the award for Best Newcomer at the ''TV Choice'' Awards. He was also nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Actor at

The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and hav ...

. In August 2017, Ghadami was announced as a contestant for the fifteenth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. He was partnered with professional dancer

Nadiya Bychkova Nadiya Bychkova (; born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in '10' Dance. In 2017, ...

. They were eliminated in week 11 of the competition, in the quarter-finals. In April 2021, it was announced that Ghadami had joined the cast of the BBC medical drama ''

'' as Eli Ebrahimi.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghadami, Davood 1982 births 21st-century English male actors English male film actors British male soap opera actors English male stage actors English male television actors English people of Iranian descent Living people Male actors from Harlow