What advice would I give to Marty about his love life?” ponders Casualty star Shaheen Jafargholi, as we probe him about his character’s latest romantic dilemma in this week’s Inside Soap . “I mean, I can’t say I’m the best when it comes to romantic situations myself – I’m 23, I still have loads to figure out! But Marty’s just a hopeless romantic, and he needs to start thinking with his head rather than his heart.”
The young nurse has been lurching from one romantic disaster to the next recently, desperately looking for the love of his life on dating app after dating app. However, it’s his expectation that best mate Jade will pick up the slack for him at work that’s leading to trouble…
“Marty has a void that he needs to fill after coming out and not being accepted by his dad,” reasons Shaheen, who previously played EastEnders’ ill-fated Shakil Kazemi. “And I think he sometimes relies on Jade in a way he shouldn’t. You can take your best friends for granted, as you think they’re always going to be there for you, and this is one of those situations. Jade keeps getting caught up in Marty’s lies, while trying to be a good friend to him.”
Luckily, Shaheen and co-star Gabriella Leon (aka Jade) are getting on much better than their characters. “Me and Gabby actually share a place together when we’re at work in Cardiff, so it’s kind of like life imitating art!” he laughs.
“We take Jade and Marty home with us, quite literally, and it’s really fun!”
Will their friendship survive the consequences of Marty’s actions?
- Shaheen confesses he struggles with some of the tricky medical jargon he has to learn, but he has a great coach to help him. Find out who it is in this week’s issue!
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