Born in Sutton in 2005, English actor Jaden Ladega attended St Cecillia’s Catholic Primary School in Worcester Park and Richard Challoner School in New Malden.
Jaden is the son of Andrew Ladega, a personal trainer at PureGym on Wandsworth High Street.
In June 2022, he was awarded the Creative Arts Award for his contribution to the drama department and performing arts at Richard Challoner School.
He later completed his acting training at North East Surrey College of Technology (NESCOT) in Epsom and Ewell, graduating in 2024.
Jaden regularly appeared in musical theatre productions during his secondary school years, including Oliver! and Little Shop of Horros.
Jaden made his professional debut as an actor at just 16, when he joined the cast of EastEnders.
Since August 2022, he’s played Denzel Danes.
Denzel first appears in EastEnders when his mother, Delilah (played by Chereen Buckley), arranges for him to move in with his dad and stepmum, Kim Fox (Tameka Empson), while she heads to Ibiza.
Created under executive producer Chris Clenshaw, Denzel quickly becomes part of the younger cast’s core friendship group.
His early storylines show him bonding with Nugget Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury), clashing with Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) before later dating her, and surviving a traumatic car crash with Kim.
As time goes on, Denzel faces more serious issues, including being assaulted by a fellow student, struggling with body image pressures, and secretly using steroids in an attempt to bulk up.
The storyline also tackles the impact of performance-enhancing drugs, which leads to a health scare and side effects such as erectile dysfunction.
Most recently, Jaden’s character has been at the centre of a hard-hitting storyline in which a group of underage teens suffer alcohol poisoning after drinking stolen cocktail jugs, taken by Denzel during a night out gone wrong.
Outside of EastEnders, Jaden has an active TikTok, in which he often appears alongside his co-stars, such as Ellie Dadd, who plays his on-screen ex-girlfriend Amy Mitchell, and Aaliyah James, who plays on-screen friend Avani Nandra-Hart.
