STRICTLY Come Dancing hunk Davood Ghadami adored playing the baddie in the pantomime Aladdin — and his role ended up wrecking two marriages.

The former EastEnders heart-throb fell for his glamorous younger co-star Melanie Barker, 32, who played Aladdin’s love interest Princess Jasmine, The Sun can reveal.

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Davood Ghadami fell for his panto co-star Melanie Barker who played Aladdin’s love interest Princess JasmineCredit: BBC

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The couple, circled, enjoyed ‘sizzling chemistry’ during the pantomime Aladdin in 2022/23

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Davood and Melanie cosying up together in one of several online snapsCredit: Instagram
The married father of two, 42, who lapped up the boos as the villainous Abanazar, is understood to have shared “sizzling on-stage chemistry” with singer Melanie.

The actor, loved by millions on EastEnders as Kush Kazemi, is said to have flirted with the mother of three and they stayed in touch after the production ended in early 2023.

At some point, love between them blossomed and the pair have now both left their respective spouses and moved in together.

The super-fit couple have posted a string of loved-up snaps of them cosying up together, and training in Davood’s gym.

A source told The Sun: “They are two very attractive people and it was clear they had sizzling onstage chemistry together.

“There was a lot of flirting backstage and I’m sure Aladdin wouldn’t have been happy that Princess Jasmine was giggling with Abanazar behind his back.

“But the genie is now well and truly out of the bottle and they are a proper couple — living together, training together and posting photos on Instagram together.

“It’s almost like a perfect fairytale ending — but for the previous partners they have left in their wake.”

Melanie is still believed to be legally married to husband Daniel Haslam.

But she left the family home with the couple’s three children — aged two, five and seven — last year.

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Davood married his long-term girlfriend Isobel in 2010 and the couple have two daughters together.

Melanie is a professional wedding singer and appeared on X Factor in 2014 as part of the Pow Pow Girls.

She and Davood were then cast together on the 2022/23 run of Aladdin at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury, Bucks.

Before the shows began Davood, who left EastEnders after seven years in 2021, said: “I have been forewarned that the audiences are likely to give me a good ol’ booing. Well, that’s great because I’m ready to be a baddie in a league of my own. Get practising your hisses.”

However his performances are said to have been warmly appreciated by Melanie. She and Davood are now believed to have moved into an Essex pad together with her kids.

The super-fit couple recently appeared to go official with their relationship after posting a string of photographs on Instagram.

One showed them with a red neon sign in the background which read: “Tell someone you love them this Christmas.”

Davood appeared to have avoided the so-called “Strictly curse” when he appeared on the BBC ballroom show in 2017 alongside pro dance partner Nadiya Bychkova.

Speaking about his wife at the time, he said: “She is my rock, the steadiness in my life and she knows that.

“I am incredibly lucky. She is so supportive.”

Davood now regularly takes Melanie to his Crossfit gym in Harlow, Essex, where he is listed on the website as “Founder & Coach”.

On New Year’s Eve, he shared a video of himself and Melanie training there with the caption: “Stepping up for the next gig with my partner in crime.”

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The actor with his former long-term partner IsobelCredit: Refer to Caption

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Davood’s Aladdan co-star Melanie with husband Daniel HaslamCredit: Darren Fletcher

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Davood avoided the so-called ‘Strictly curse’ when he appeared on the show in with Nadiya Bychkova.Credit: Handout
Davood, who has also starred in Taggart and Casualty, also posted a collection of snaps showing him and Melanie on a romantic Christmas break in York.

The happy couple are pictured with beaming smiles while sharing tea and cakes before exploring the picturesque city.

In one video they have a romantic meal at the famous Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms.

Melanie met future hubby Daniel at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2014, and the pair tied the knot three years later in Sardinia.

She and her six bandmates in the Pow Pow Girls got through to X Factor’s Boot Camp stage in 2014.

They impressed judges — including Simon Cowell and Cheryl — with a rendition of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”.

Davood joined EastEnders in 2014 as lothario Kush Kazemi who enjoyed a string of romances with Stacey Branning, Denise Fox and Shabnam Masood.

But he left in 2021, when his character met an untimely death after being pushed in front of a train by serial killer Gray Atkins.

Davood later joined BBC medical drama Holby as surgeon Eli Ebrahimi before the series was axed in 2022.

During his time on Albert Square, Davood reached the quarter-finals of Strictly in 2017 — and, unlike many others, his marriage survived the experience.

Since the first series in 2004, a string of celebrity contestants and dancers have seen their relationships break up.

Judge Craig Revel Horwood once said, controversially: “I think of it as a blessing, to be honest.

“One person is married, the other one had a girlfriend but my point in this entire thing is, if you come on Strictly, sometimes you are in a relationship that is not working anyway. There has to be something wrong in your relationship before it all goes awry.”

Last night a spokesman for Davood declined to comment.

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Melanie is still believed to be legally married to husband Daniel HaslamCredit: Darren Fletcher

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Davood reached the quarter-finals of Strictly in 2017 and his marriage survived the experienceCredit: BBC Press Handout