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Heated Rivalry UK trailer
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Shaheen Jafargholi has been cast in season two of Heated Rivalry - and Brits will perhaps recognise him from his previous work.
The 29-year-old will play Fabian Salah, an openly gay Lebanese Canadian indie musician on the Canadian hockey and gay romance series, and has been cast alongside Daniel Diemer who will portray Ryan Price, a Canadian hockey player who struggles with anxiety and body image issues.
Fans of the Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series based on the show will know that these two characters are the main couple in the third book Tough Guy.
Daniel Diemer (L) and Shaheen Jafargholi (R)Adam Hendershott/Alan Howard
Upon news of the latest casting, the show's creator Jacob Tierney said, "Fabian and Ryan each bring a distinctive energy to the world Rachel Reid has created. They are bold, complicated, and deeply compelling characters, and finding actors who could really take on all of those different sides was so important to us.
"Daniel and Shaheen bring such confidence and emotional honesty to the roles. We can’t wait for audiences to see what they do with Fabian and Ryan and how they make these characters their own."
Who is Shaheen Jafargholi?
Shaheen Jafargholi attends the special screening of "Wreck" Season 2 at the Regent Street Cinema on March 19, 2024 in London, England. Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Jafargholi is a Welsh actor and singer who began acting in 2009, appearing as Troy in the kid’s TV show Grandpa in my Pocket, along with appearances in episodes of Torchwood and Casualty.
Jafargholi on Britain's Got Talent back in 2009ITV
At the age of 12, Jafargholi finished in seventh place in 2009's season of Britain's Got Talent, and he famously sang Michael Jackson's 'Who's Lovin' You' at his audition which later led him to perform the song at Michael Jackson's global memorial service.
(L-R) Singers Jennifer Hudson, Lionel Richie and Shaheen Jafargholi, a finalist in "Britain's Got Talent," stand on stage at the Michael Jackson public memorial service held at Staples Center on July 7, 2009 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaPhoto by Mario Anzuoni-Pool/Getty Images
As for stage experience, Jafargholi would go on to play a young Michael Jackson in Thriller – Live, and also appeared in productions of Macbeth, The King and I, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Aladdin.
From 2016 to 2018, Jafargholi played Shakil Kazemi in the British soap opera EastEnders and since his exit from Walford, Jafargholi has appeared in series such as Lost Boys and Fairies, In Flight and The Agency.
Aside from Heated Rivalry, he is also set to appear in Sky legal drama, War.
Why not read...
- Heated Rivalry season 2 - everything we know so far
- Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie spotted with buzz cut
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