Marty (Shaheen Jafargholi)

Former EastEnders star Shaheen Jafargholi has joined Casualty, Digital Spy can exclusively reveal.

The actor, best known to soap fans for playing Walford teen Shakil Kazemi, has already started filming with the BBC medical drama, where he will be playing new nurse Marty.

Marty is set to land a job in the Holby hospital later this year, but will quickly learn that life in the high-pressured ED could be far more difficult than he anticipated.

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Shaheen Jafargholi as Marty in Casualty
© BBC

Speaking about joining Casualty, Shaheen said: "I am so delighted to be joining the cast of Casualty and continuing to work with the BBC.

"It's been a whirlwind few weeks, moving to Cardiff, getting my head into a brand new character and meeting the super lovely and welcoming cast and crew. I'm super excited as I have been a fan of the series for years, so to get to be a part of it is fantastic."

Casualty's series producer Lucy Raffety added: "We are delighted that Shaheen is joining the cast of Casualty. He is a huge talent with such a warm screen presence and we know he will bring so much to the show.

"Shaheen plays Marty, who has razor sharp wit, but he soon discovers that being an ED nurse takes more than a cheeky wink and a clever one-liner!"

Shaheen joined EastEnders as Carmel's son Shakil back in 2016, but was killed off in tragic scenes earlier this year.

Shakil lost his life in the show's harrowing knife crime plot, which saw his friend Keegan Baker also brutally attacked.

Prior to his soap debut, Shaheen reached the final of Britain's Got Talent back in 2007. He also performed at a Michael Jackson memorial concert in Los Angeles following the superstar's death in 2009.

Marty's first scenes will air later this autumn.

Digital Spy