Beyond Paradise star Zahra Ahmadi has had some big screen roles, including being part of an iconic soap family, but worried that one TV job would stop her being cast as Esther
Fans of the Death in Paradise spin-off series may identify Zahra Ahmadi from Beyond Paradise as DI Humphrey Goodman’s co-conspirator, DS Esther Williams. However, fans may also recognise her from a previous prominent role.
Zahra, 42, rose to popularity as the original Shabnam Masood on EastEnders. Although it has been 16 years since her last appearance in Albert Square, the actress has a long list of other well-known series on her resume. Zahra prefers to keep her personal life private, but as she becomes used to her position in Beyond Paradise—the show has returned for a second season—she is quickly becoming a household name among TV fans.
Everything you need to know about Zahra’s accomplishments is provided here, including how she introduced the renowned Walford family and why she was concerned she wouldn’t be cast in Beyond Paradise.
Kris Marshall and Zahra Ahmadi co-star in the film Beyond Paradise. (Photo credit: David Appleby/Red Planet Pictures)
Proud of her Plymouth roots
Although Zahra’s first major part was in EastEnders, she was raised in Plymouth, on the south coast of Devon, far from the London setting of the soap opera. She also said that she wanted to be DS Esther Williams because she wanted to portray a character from the West Country in Beyond Paradise. She is proud of her origins in the southwest.
“In the beginning, that was the draw for me,” Zahra told the BBC, “because I’ve never had the opportunity in my professional career to play a character from the West Country.” Although it may seem cliched, I really liked Esther’s strength and independence as a woman.”
Although she has lived by the coast, Zahra admitted that she had “a hard time in Guadeloupe” while filming a Death in Paradise episode because of the bug situation by the beach.
“I don’t like bugs, so I had a lot of bug incidents in Guadalupe…”, she explained to Sunday Brunch.
EastEnders stardom
As the original actor in the role, Zahra had the gift of an early TV appearance as Shabnam Masood from EastEnders, which helped to establish the Masood family in 2007. After graduating from college, Shabnam had planned to travel, but she decided to stay in Walford when she learned that her parents, Masood (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab (Nina Wadia), were having financial difficulties.
In an attempt to rediscover herself, Shabnam fled for Pakistan in 2008. When her persona reappeared in 2014, actress Rakhee Thakrar portrayed her till 2016, at which point Zahra said she want to explore new roles. “Since I’m still young and want to attempt other positions, I’ve taken the difficult choice to depart. It’s been a terrific experience, so I’m very glad the door has been left open for me to come back,” she said at the time.
Life after EastEnders
Zahra hasn’t let her departure from the highly known serial opera spell the end of her professional success, despite the fact that in the sixteen years after she left Albert Square, she’s been cast in a number of very successful series.
Highlights of her hectic TV career include a leading part in the third season of the ITV criminal thriller The Bay, an appearance in the 2014 Black Mirror special White Christmas, and appearances in Doctor Who and Informer. However, she was concerned that she might lose out on the part of Esther if she accepted another TV job before earning her present role in Beyond Paradise.
From Death in Paradise to Beyond Paradise
Death in Paradise superfans might have recognised Zahra when she arrived in spin-off show Beyond Paradise from a feature role in the original series. Zahra played a different character in Death in Paradise back in 2018, although she didn’t appear alongside Kris as Ardal O’Hanlon had taken over as the show’s star detective Jack Mooney by then.
She portrayed Daisy Anderson, the murder victim, who was having an affair while running a charity auction at the yacht club.
Now that Zahra has been recast with Kris Marshall, Dylan Llewellyn, and Felicity Montagu in Beyond Paradise as DS Esther Williams, she said that she had been concerned that her death in Death in Paradise would count against her from the show.
She said on Sunday Brunch, “To be honest, I was a little anxious about it. I said, “Please, nobody bring it up,” since I was performing more and more auditions after being called back [for Beyond Paradise]. You were in Death in Paradise, right?’ someone said, and I responded, “Yeah.” I was thinking, “How can I do it if I’ve died?,” but it’s a different world.”
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