Nej Adamson (born 23 December 1958), also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Career

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Adamson is of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

descent. He played

Ali Osman Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original ''EastEnders'' cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly five ...

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 ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, ''

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 played from the series' inception in 1985 until 1989. During his time on the show his character battled with the loss of a child,

gambling addiction Problem gambling, ludopathy, or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to DSM-5 if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological ga ...

, the breakdown of his marriage to Sue ( Sandy Ratcliff) and her subsequent mental health problems. During ''EastEnders'' he was credited as Nejdet Salih, but after his departure in 1989, he changed his name to Nej Adamson. Other television credits include ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Wall of Silence'' and in 2004 he appeared in the comedy sketch show ''

Bo' Selecta! ''Bo' Selecta!'' is a British television sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and lampooned popular culture, becoming known for its often surreal, abstract toilet humour. Ser ...

'', where he played his ''EastEnders'' alias, Ali Osman, in a spoof sketch. He also featured in the 1992 film ''

Carry On Columbus ''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Jim Dale, Bernard Cribbins, Maureen Lipman, Peter Richardson and many other British comic actors. It was written by Dave Freeman and John Antrobus. I ...

'' and in 2003 he played a short sailor in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' and its sequel '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006). Adamson believes he has been typecast due to his role in ''EastEnders''. On the show's 25th anniversary in 2010, he commented, "I have had to live with Ali for 25 years. I'm just trying to get on with my life. I don't give interviews. I am still acting but it is hard when to everyone I'm still Ali from the cafe."

Personal life

During the 1980s, he dated

Linda Davidson Linda Davidson (born 18 June 1964) is a Canadian-British former actress and writer, who is best known for playing the wayward punk Mary Smith in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Mary was one of the serial's original characters; Davidson played ...

, his co-star on ''EastEnders'' who played Mary Smith. Adamson married his drama school sweetheart, Susan Stevens, in 1989. The marriage ended in 1990 when Adamson briefly moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20130516135952/http://nejadamson.co.uk/ 1958 births English people of Turkish Cypriot descent English male film actors English male soap opera actors Living people Male actors from London {{UK-screen-actor-stub