EastEnders confirms Kush Kazemi exit after six years on screen for actor Davood Ghadami

Announcing Kush's exit, an EastEnders spokesperson told RadioTimes.com: "We can confirm Davood will be leaving EastEnders when his contract comes to an end next year. Davood has been a wonderful addition to EastEnders and we wish him all the best for the future."

Kate Oates, head of continuing drama at the BBC, added: "Davood is a fantastic actor and a hugely popular company member, so we will miss him hugely."

Although he's set to leave, it won't be for a while, with an insider telling us: "Bosses have a huge plot planned, but although Davood was told in January, his departure is not for a very long time yet. In fact Kush will be on screen until well into 2021. It's a shame and he will be missed by everyone at Elstree but sometimes the cost of having a big storyline means losing big characters."

Davood joined the long running soap six years ago. His character Kush was introduced as Martin Fowler's old friend and a new trader on the Bridge Street market.

Since his arrival, Kush has been at the centre of a number of poignant storylines, including having a one-night stand with Martin's wife Stacey Slater and fathering her son Arthur.

He then appeared to be getting close with Martin's daughter Bex, before entering into a relationship with Stacey's cousin Kat Slater - who he's now with.

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Just a year after joining the soap, Davood and his co-star Rakhee Thakrar received praise for their powerful performances in a stillbirth storyline involving Kush and Shabnam Masood's son Zaair.

In 2017, Davood took part on series 15 of Strictly Come Dancing and made it to the semi-finals.

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