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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

EastEnders' Davood Ghadami secures his first TV role since Holby City was axed

EastEnders star Davood Ghadami has secured his first television role since Holby City was axed.

The soap actor will be joining another EastEnders legend in the brand new role.

Davood, 40, was on EastEnders between 2014 and 2021 as Kush Kazemi before joining Holby City in 2021 as Eli Ebrahimi.

The same year he joined the show it was announced it had been cancelled after 23 series on the air.

And now, he's making a return to our screens as a cast member of the Death In Paradise spinoff, Beyond Paradise.

EastEnders legend Annette Badland, who plays Walford resident Aunt Babe, will also be joining him.

Davood was only on Holby City for a few months before it was axed (BBC)

Phil Daniels - who was also on the same soap - was another star announced for the series.

In December 2021, the Holby City cast and crew were left devastated when they wrapped up filming for the final time.

The actors paid tribute to the medical drama as they finished filming on set for the last time before the finale aired in March 2022.

Annette Badland will be joining the Death In Paradise spin-off (BBC/Kieron McCarron)

The adored show was created as a spin-off from BBC's Casualty and first premiered in 1999, but in June last year, the broadcasting company announced that they will be closing the doors on Holby City Hospital for good.

"We are incredibly proud of Holby City but it’s with great sadness that we are announcing that after 23 years, the show will end on screen in March of next year," they said in a statement.

Davood, who played Eli, expressed his upset at leaving the cast: "Tough one today. Holby City is such a wonderful place to be and I am not ready to say goodbye.

Davood landed a role in the same show (BBC/Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)

"I will miss all the cast and crew who I feel like I have just started to get to know.

"I will miss playing Eli who is a gift of a character to play. Thank you to the Holby fans. I'm sorry this brilliant show has to end."

When the news of the cancellation first dripped, he said: "I've only had the privilege of being part of @BBCHolbyCity for a couple of months but its already very clear that its a great big family not a workplace. It will be sorely missed. Lets go out with a bang #Holby."

Beyond Paradise starts on Friday, February 24 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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