Former EastEnders star Shaheen Jafargholi has wowed fans by sharing shirtless photographs on Instagram to show off his toned physique. The 29-year-old actor looks unrecognisable eight years after appearing on the BBC soap, having traded his buzzcut for curly hair after working out hard at the gym.
Jafargholi showed off his buff physique in park snaps and posed in a mirror selfie on social media. Fans commented on the images, writing "Phoar", "gorgeous", and "Always hot".
Jafargholi landed the part of Shakil Kazemi on EastEnders in May 2016 and played the role for two years. His time on the BBC soap ended when his character was dramatically stabbed to death in a hard-hitting knife crime storyline that hit headlines at the time.
EastEnders knife crime storyline
The onscreen funeral for Shakil Kazemi featured real-life families affected by knife crime. Speaking in an interview at the time, Jafargholi said, "I wanted to know that we were going to do it right and that it was going to have a positive impact."
He said, "The nature of the storyline was quite hard-hitting and intense to play, but if anything I was honoured. With a storyline like that, where it’s such a huge topic in real life, it was important for all of us involved to feel like we were portraying it as real as possible and doing a good job for this thing that happens to so many people in real life."
Reflecting on the public response, Jafargholi added, "For the reaction to be as positive as it has and for it to hold as much importance and impact as I feel it has has been really overwhelming and really exciting and I’m so proud of the show."
Britain's Got Talent and screen career
Jafargholi first entered the spotlight on Britain's Got Talent at age 12, with singing as one of his main ambitions. He sang Michael Jackson's "Who's Lovin' You" and finished in seventh place during the series three finals. He was later invited to perform the same song globally at Michael Jackson's public memorial service in Los Angeles.
Following his soap exit, Jafargholi immediately joined Casualty as regular student nurse Marty Kirkby, a role he played for five years. He stars as series regular Saeed Masood in the Sky and HBO legal drama War.
