Swansea-born singer and actor Shaheen Jafargholi made headlines in 2009 following his Britain’s Got Talent audition but believe it or not, he’d already had numerous TV credits under his belt before appearing on the show. An alumni of the Mark Jermin Stage School, prior to his famous BGT audition (more on that later), Shaheen previously had guest appearances in CBBC's Grandpa in My Pocket, Torchwood and even appeared as a young Michael Jackson on stage in Thriller Live.
Despite his impressive credit list, it was Shaheen’s BGT audition that put him on the world’s stage but not without fault. When he first started to sing in front of the judges, Simon Cowell accused Shaheen of “getting it really wrong” as he started to sing Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Cowell requested that he sing another song as his voice didn’t suit the song. What followed was a highly credited rendition of Smokey Jackson’s Who’s Loving You, judges singing Shaheen's praises and a standing ovation from the audience at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
For Shaheen, the BGT crown was not to be but that didn’t matter, he’d had his big break. The young singer finished the competition in sixth place. Naturally, there were critics saying that BGT should ‘only be open to amateurs’ and considering Shaheen’s training, didn’t see it as fair that he take part. This, in turn, led to an official response from BGT saying that the show was ‘open to everyone’.
Following his time on BGT, work kept coming in for little Shaheen. An already established connection with King of Pop Michael Jackson continued. In September that year, Shaheen sang I’ll Be There at the 2009 MOBO Awards following Jackson’s untimely passing. The performance led to Shaheen performing at Michael Jackson’s memorial at the Los Angeles Staples Center in July that year. After the performance, where Shaheen sang Who’s Loving You, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy famously said: “I have no cotton pickin’ idea who that is, but if I were [still] in the business, I would sign him tomorrow.”
And someone then did. In 2010, Shaheen would go on to release his debut single, Last Train Home. The song was intended to be a part of an album but to this day, the album has never been released with Shaheen’s management saying there was “huge international interest and some overseas opportunities”. These ‘overseas’ opportunities never materialised but that is, perhaps, because young Shaheen was about to start a new venture in the UK.
A professionally-trained actor as well as a singer, Shaheen was cast in EastEnders in 2016 as Shakil, the son of Bonnie Langford’s character, Carmel Kazemi. Shaheen's character would later be involved in several dramatic storylines including a relationship with Bex Fowler (played by Jasmine Armfield), a gang crime story and eventually, the character’s murder in a stabbing. The storyline was met with huge appraisal. The producers worked closely with Ben Kinsella Trust, which was founded by former EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella after her brother was stabbed to death. Notably, during Shakil’s funeral in the soap, real-life families of knife crime members played mourners during the episode, which ran in 2018.
Following his departure from EastEnders, Shaheen was thrust straight into another continuing drama, Casualty as nurse Marty Kirkby, a role he still plays to this day. Marty is described as “a confident nurse who has a blunt bedside manner and excellent clinical skills”. He has been involved in several key storylines in the show including coming out to his parents, having casual sex with strangers and contracting HIV. Upon being cast, Shaheen said: “It’s an honour to become a small part of this legacy." With Shaheen’s mother in real life working in a hospital, he regularly asks her for help with medical terminology and also, the manner in which to talk to patients. Interestingly, whilst working on the show, Shaheen commuted from his home in London to Cardiff.
The singer turned actor has dramatically changed his appearance over the years and now sports a new short hairstyle and has quirky a fashion sense. He isn’t that active on social media but you can find him on Instagram @shaheenjafa. From Britain’s Got Talent to Michael Jackson concerts, Albert Square to Holby ED, Shaheen Jafargholi is one Welsh star who continues to prove that he isn’t a one-trick pony.
