Inside EastEnders’ Davood Ghadami’s marriage before ‘leaving wife’ for pantomime co-star

Best known for his roles on EastEnders and Holby City, Davood Ghadami has largely kept his personal life out of the spotlight.

As well as playing Kush Kazemi in the BBC soap, the actor and Strictly star appeared in ITV’s Taggart, had a recurring role as Aran Chandar in Doctors, and starred as Eli Ebrahimi in Holby City. He also competed on Strictly in 2017, where he was partnered with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova.

Recently, however, the actor made headlines after reports suggested he had “left” his wife for a mum-of-three co-star, who he met while working on a pantomime in 2022 and 2023. Davood, 42, starred in Aladdin, working with 32-year-old Melanie Barker as Princess Jasmine. While the duo – both married at the time – played enemies on stage, it seems they had plenty of chemistry in the real world.

The pair are said to have “flirted” while working together and, fast-forward to now it has been reported the pair have left their spouses and now live together – as Melanie has reportedly brought her three kids to live with Davood in Essex. Here, we take a look at Davood’s marriage before its reported breakdown and the split rumours…

Who is Davood Ghadami’s wife?

The 42-year-old tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend Isobel in 2010, and the couple went on to have two daughters – Eve in 2012 and Grace in 2015. The family lived together in a stunning home in Essex before the split.

Back in 2018, he spoke proudly about his wife to Woman magazine, admitting: “My wife and I know each other inside out and have a genuine understanding about how the other ticks. We met 17 years ago at university so we’ve got a lot of shared history.

“I’m an incredibly lucky man. My life couldn’t be the way it is without her support. She was amazing when I was in Strictly and kept everything going.”

Davood had to make a few adjustments ahead of his wedding due to his acting career at the time. After marrying in 2010, he told The Scottish Sun at the time: “Getting married capped an amazing year for me — even though trying to fit the wedding in amongst work was a nightmare. My brothers — who were my best men — had to rearrange my stag do because of filming dates.”

During his marriage to Isobel, Davood took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. At the time Davood opened up about how his wife, who tended to keep away from the spotlight, felt watching him do steamy dances on Strictly, to which he joked: “She loved it, she was really nervous before. She was nervous for me.”

He also admitted he put himself on a sex ban as he wanted to focus all his time and energy on the competition. “I haven’t got the time or the energy, he previously confessed to The Sun. “At the moment, your head is full of steps, beats and timings. Your body is aching. I’ve been working quite late, getting in early. I sometimes forget to eat that’s how bad it is. Even my most basic needs are overlooked.”

Davood previously opened up on handling infidelity rumours, saying his wife had always been his steady support, even when watching him play intimate scenes on TV. He said during his Strictly stint: “People will say things. As long as you know the truth and the people you love know the truth it shouldn’t matter. I guess I did learn that.

“My wife watches Kush on the TV pretending to be married to or sleeping with another character. So she is used to dealing with this sort of situation­ in my professional life. She is the rock, the steadiness in my life and she knows that. I’m incredibly lucky. She is so supportive.”

‘Splitting’ from wife to be with ‘mum-of-three’ co-star