# Davood Ghadami

Davood Ghadami (Persian: داوود قدمی; born 7 August 1982) is an English actor. Following his appearances in Taggart in 2010, he appeared in the BBC medical programmes Doctors and Casualty in recurring roles. In 2014, he began portraying the role of Kush Kazemi in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, 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 as Eli Ebrahimi.

## Early and personal life

Ghadami was born on 7 August 1982 in Harlow, Essex. He is of Iranian 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 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 Taggart. He found the role challenging, since it involved looking at photos of genuine crime scenes. Following this, he appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors in the recurring role of Aran Chandar from 2012 to 2013.
From 2013 to 2014, he appeared in the BBC medical drama Casualty as Ramin Tehrani. Other television credits include Life's Too Short, Law & Order, Skins Redux, Doctor Who, Top Boy, Fast Freddie, Silent Witness, Criminal Justice and Spooks.
On stage, he has played Amir in 13 at The National, as well as working for York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre.
In 2014, Ghadami joined the cast of EastEnders 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.
In August 2017, Ghadami was announced as a contestant for the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova. 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 Holby City as Eli Ebrahimi.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Casualty | Mero Hashid | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | The Bill | Faz | Episodes: "Confessions of a Killer" and "Inferno" |
| 2006 | Spooks | Prince Wissam | Episodes: "Hostage Takers: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2006 | Dream Team | Izmet | Episode: "Trust" |
| 2007 | The Omid Djalili Show | Mafia Guy | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Doctors | Tariq Kalbasi | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Criminal Justice | Josh Hughes | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Bloody Foreigners | Plautinianus | Episode: "The Untold Invasion of Britain" |
| 2010 | Taggart | Duncan Clark | Series 27; 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | Jim | Episode: "Let's Kill Hitler" |
| 2011 | Top Boy | Teacher | 1 episode |
| 2012–2013 | Doctors | Aran Chandar | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Silent Witness | Ali Kolathi | Episodes: "Trust: Parts 1 and 2" |
| 2013 | Life's Too Short | Waiter | Episode: "Easter Special" |
| 2013 | Skins | Raj | Episodes: "Fire: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2013 | Law & Order: UK | Russell | Episode: "Paternal" |
| 2013–2014 | Casualty | Ramin Tehrani | Recurring role |
| 2014–2021 | EastEnders | Kush Kazemi | Regular role; 641 episodes |
| 2015 | Valentine's Kiss | Greg | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 2017 | Strictly Come Dancing | Himself | Contestant (series 15) |
| 2020 | EastEnders: Secrets from the Square | Himself | Episode: "Martin and Kush" |
| 2021–2022 | Holby City | Eli Ebrahimi | Regular role |
| 2022 | The Chelsea Detective | Nitin Shamsie | Series 1 |
| 2023 | Beyond Paradise | Ben Tyler | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Casualty | Eli Ebrahimi | Episode: "How to Save a Life" |
| 2025 | House of David | Eliab | Main cast |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2015 | 2015 British Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2015 | Inside Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2015 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Affair (with Lacey Turner) | EastEnders | Shortlisted |
| 2015 | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | EastEnders | Won |
| 2016 | 21st National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2016 | 2016 British Soap Awards | Best Actor | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2016 | Inside Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2017 | 2017 British Soap Awards | Best Actor | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2017 | Inside Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | EastEnders | Won |
| 2018 | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actor | EastEnders | Nominated |
| 2019 | 24th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | EastEnders | Nominated |