10 totally true FACTS about... Davood Ghadami
YOUR lnsidesoap BRIEFING ON THE MAN BEHIND EASTENDERS’ KUSH…
1 Davood Ghadami was born on 7 August 1982 in Harlow, Essex. He grew up with younger brothers Bobby and Joseph, and attended Saint Nicholas School. Davood says that he was a shy child and found it difficult at school. “At the time, there were fewer people of mixed backgrounds in schools,” he explains. “I wasn’t involved in anything physical, but name-calling can be harder-hitting when you’re a young lad.”
2 Davood joined the Eastenders cast as Kush Kazemi in 2014 – and got off on the wrong foot immediately, when he tried to drive his van down Bridge Street! Kush soon got involved with Shabnam Masood, and she fell pregnant, but sadly lost the baby. The pair planned to marry – just as Stacey dropped the bombshell that Kush was the father of her baby! Kush was later joined in the Square by mum Carmel and brother Shakil – who was stabbed outside the Vic and died. Distraught Carmel left Walford, but Kush stayed to look after son Arthur.
3 In 2010, Davood married his long-term girlfriend, Isobel, and together they have two children – Eve, born in 2012, and Grace, born in 2015. “Bringing children into the mix changes your life in every way,” admits Davood. “Being a dad is wonderful. I’m not sure we’ll have more – when there are more kids than adults, you really have to step up your game.”
4 Davood was also a regular in the final series of Taggart, playing pathologist Duncan Clark.
Davood admits that aspects of the role were challenging. “It was quite hard to deal with, because it was so graphic,” he says. “There were dead bodies, and images of genuine crime scenes – it was horrible!” However, Davood does miss filming in Scotland. “Despite what you hear about the weather, I have brilliant memories of soaking up the sun and having barbecues,” he grins.
5 In 2017, Davood joined the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing. He was paired with Nadiya Bychkova, and they finished in sixth place – beaten by the Dales’ Gemma Atkinson (Carly Hope) and Holby City’s Joe Mcfadden (Raf di Lucca), who won the series. “I knew a lot of people from Eastenders had done Strictly before,” Davood tells us. “Tameka Empson [Kim] said, ‘Once you go out on that dance floor, you own it. Don’t hold back!’ That’s good advice.”
6 After leaving Taggart and before joining Eastenders, Davood took on a wide variety of smaller roles. The actor won parts in Doctor Who, Skins, Silent Witness and the Disney film John Carter. He also joined Casualty as Ramin Tehrani – an asylum seeker who later went travelling with ED nurse Jamie Collier.
7 Although his former co-star Bonnie Langford has now left the Square, she and Davood are still great pals. “I’m really close to Bonnie,” he confirms. “When she found out I was doing Strictly, she was so excited – she just jumped on me and said, ‘You’ll be all right with the lifts!’ And she was right.” Last Christmas, Davood took one of his daughters to see Bonnie when she starred in the musical 42nd Street.
8 Davood takes care of his physique through gruelling Crossfit classes.
“I didn’t go to the gym for months when I was doing Strictly,” he confesses. “My New Year’s resolution is to focus on my Crossfit, which is high-intensity football training. I enjoy the camaraderie of the group – we really push each other. Crossfit is my therapy.”
9 Despite their characters not always being the best of friends on screen, Davood is good mates with James Bye (Martin) in real life.
“I’m lucky to get on with the people I work with regularly, and I spend a lot of time with them between scenes,” grins Davood. “When me and James Bye hang out, we get called ‘Mush’ – the names ‘Martin’ and ‘Kush’ combined. We’re never far away from each other. It’s really sad!”
10 Davood claims that he once had a ghostly experience! “My parents live in a really old house, which I’ve now realised is haunted!” explains the star. “One time, there was definitely something there with me. I was on my own in the house, but in the mirror I saw a reflection – even though there was no one in the house except me. Being utterly convinced there is no such thing as ghosts and then seeing something like that – it was interesting!”