Carmel Kazemi made her first appearance on the 26th May 2015 and is the mother of Kush, Darius and Shaki Kazemi. She is also the wife of Umar Kazemi and grandmother of Zaair Kazemi and Arthur Fowler. In 2018, it was revealed she would be exiting the show later that year.
Trivia
• Both Carmel's actor, Bonnie Langford, and Derek Branning's actor, Jamie Foreman, have had roles in "Doctor Who". While Foreman played a character in one episode, Langford starred as the Sixth and Seventh Doctors' companion, Mel Bush, from 1986 to 1987.
About
A flirty, feisty Essex girl with the heart of a lion… Carmel is an Essex girl through and through, but has worked hard to shake off her ditzy stereotype. She projects the image of a strong, independent woman, but underneath lies quite a sensitive and lonely person.
To her friends, Carmel is warm, kind and a good listener with a spiritual side - and is very much the life and soul of the party!
Family is everything to Carmel - after her relationship ended badly with Umar, her husband, she is determined to ensure her ‘little Kushy’ settles down with the right woman.
Backstory
Carmel mentions on 1 September 2016, that when she was at a birthday party. she kissed Danny Stewart.
Storylines
Carmel comes for dinner with Shabnam Masood after she becomes engaged to Kush. She gets on well with her father, Masood Ahmed, and they go for a drink together, where Masood tells Carmel that Shabnam had a secret daughter named Roya which she abandoned seven years ago. Carmel is understanding and offers her support to Shabnam, although it just makes Shabnam angry at Masood for revealing her secret. After her son Kush had proposed to Shabnam she tries to take control by wanting to have an engagement party for them but Shabnam isn't having anything of it but then in the episode which aired 11th June Carmel gets Stacey to rally up the guys to practice a dance which her zumba teacher taught her. Carmel visits the Masoods frequently and Shabnam dislikes her heavy involvement with the wedding planning. She is delighted when Shabnam and Kush announce they are expecting. Carmel arrives at Shabnam and Kush's flat, upset as Kush's father is selling her house. Shabnam begrudgingly allows her to move in temporarily, but later catches Carmel and Masood in bed together. After Kush learns that his and Shabnam's baby boy Zaair Kazemi is stillborn, his father contacts Carmel and allows her to move back in to her house. Before returning to Essex, she and Masood help Kush and Shabnam reconcile for Zaair's, funeral.
Carmel is angry at Kush when he reveals that his is the father of Stacey Slater's son Arthur due to them having a one night stand before Arthur was born. This caused Sabnam and Kush to slit up. Arthur was believed to be Martin Fowler's son, however once Stacey found out that she was four months pregnant, she reveled that the father cannot be Martin and that it must be Kush. Martin adopted Arthur, although Kush and Carmel both see him regularly.
In September 2017, Max Branning is requested by the Willmott-Brown Family (who are currently orchestating a plan to demolish the Square and replace it with luxury tower blocks) to begin a relationship with Carmel, as she is a member of the planning department. Later that year in November 2017, Masood returns to Walford to break the news to Carmel that he will not be renewing her tenancy at 41 Albert Square, to allow his aunt and uncle Mariam and Arshad Ahmed to move in the following year.
In October 2017, Carmel babysits Arthur and his half-sister Lily Branning and she finds some bruises o Arthur's arm and Lily tells Carmel that their mother Stacey did it, therefore Carmel calls social services who then investigates Arthur's bruises. However she realises she has made a mistake and phoned social services again. They then arrive and ask Stacey if anyone can have Lily and Arthur for the night and Carmel and Arthur's dad Kush say the children can stay with them for the time being. However a pediatric report confirms that neither Stacey or Martin hurt Arthur. Lily and Arthur return to Stacey and Martin after Lily admits that she gave Arthur the bruises as she was jealous that he was getting all of the attention. After Carmel tells Stacey that she was the person who phoned the Social, Stacey punches Carmel and banns her from seeing Arthur.
In December 2017, Carmel finds an engagement ring which Max had dropped on the sofa the day before. When Max comes later, obviously to retrieve it, she puts it back and smiles, Max not knowing she had seen it. Later that day, in the Queen Victoria, Max kisses Sophie Willmott-Brown in front of almost the entire Square, including Carmel and his own family. The remainder of the Willmott-Brown family enter, and reveal to everyone that Weyland & Co own Grafton Hill, and as a result the pub, much to Kathy Beale's horror. Carmel rushes home, and cries in the mirror. Kush comes home, and is shocked as Carmel complains about make-up and her tear-stained face. She tells him what has happened, and he enters the pub and punches Max.