Ray Panthaki

'So, this one's Tim and this one's Jeff. Are they related? Who was the one that drowned? Did he kill himself? Right. And his dad died too? Amazing.' Ray Panthaki has a CD by each Buckley in his hands. The EastEnders actor is swift to point out that singer-songwriters are his 'weak spot', and he's intrigued to 'hear more by these guys'. Lately, he's been getting to thinking that there's more to music than hip hop and soul - something you wouldn't necessarily have got him to admit five years previously. So, what changed? A while ago, he turned on the radio and heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks, singing the line, 'Your daddy was an alcoholic.' The band was Starsailor. He rushed out and bought their debut album Love is Here, and hasn't stopped playing it since. Five days ago, he found out that the band were playing a low-key show in Liverpool. 'It was totally sold out, so I even tried to get in by telling them I was in EastEnders - which I hate doing.'

Any luck? 'Well, that was the funny thing. I couldn't even get in on the guest list, so I entered a competition to win tickets. I texted the number and won!' Despite the rigours of an early shoot the following morning, Panthaki made the 350-mile round trip. As he arrived in Liverpool city centre, he heard a car horn and turned to see a window winding down. 'It turns out that [singer] James Walsh is a huge fan of EastEnders. The band thought it was hilarious when I said I was there to see them! So anyway, after the show, we got talking and the subject of the band's name came up.' Starsailor are named after Tim Buckley's 1970 album. 'So now, I'm curious to see what that album sounds like.'

In spite - or perhaps because - of the fact that he's only had five hours sleep, Panthaki is positively buzzing. For the first time since he joined the soap as gormless DJ and wannabe playa Ronny Ferreira, Panthaki is at the centre of a major plotline, in a coma, awaiting a kidney from his half-brother Tariq. 'It's great fun,' he says, sitting on the floor of his North London flat, 'But this country is obsessed with EastEnders - and nothing can prepare you for the effect that can have on your life.'

Still only 25, the actor - born in London to second-generation Indian parents - says he still prefers the company of the schoolfriends he grew up with in Edmonton. 'If you go to school there, everyone tends to listen to hip hop - so that was my thing. Gangsta rap and G-funk. That seemed to fit in with our environment. The best album of my teenage years was Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony's first album.' One would imagine that the teenage Panthaki's burgeoning interest in drama school might have seemed at odds with his peers - but he makes the point that if you want to get into acting, hip hop gives you a better grounding than any other music. 'Listen to all those albums by Dre, NWA, KRS-1, and they're full of role playing. That's why Eminem is so brilliant. Listen to something like "Stan", and it's obvious there isn't a rapper in the world to touch him.'

Britpop passed Panthaki by, although the other day he turned on the car radio just as Pulp's 'Common People' came on: 'I used to hate that song. I remember seeing that guy on the telly and thinking, "God, what is he all about?" You just didn't impress anyone if you walked into the playground enthusing about that stuff. But I listened to it properly, and the lyrics are amazing. Blur, Pulp - those bands had good tunes, man! They're like little dramas of their own.'

But what does a young, single soap star listen to when the demands of the world are getting him down? 'You know what? I don't like to wallow - so probably "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. You don't get that many really great happy songs, do you? I mean, why would you stay in and write a song if you were feeling happy?'

The prescription

The patient's strong empathy with hip hop culture dates back to his youth, but one genre no longer meets all his emotional and musical needs

Responding to a request for tunes by the Jam and Specials, the Doctor dispatched relevant compilations his way, as well as the first Stone Roses album. Panthaki didn't think he liked reggae too much, but the Doctor had a hunch that he'd fall for the beatific acoustic roots of Buju Banton's landmark 1995 album 'Til Shiloh. Worried about the intensity of the patient's affection for Lionel Richie, the Doctor recommended Al Green's recent I Can't Stop. Of course, he couldn't let Starsailor's celebrity stalker go without foisting the album that inspired the group's name on him. And along with Tim Buckley's genre-defying album, Jeff Buckley's rather more accessible Grace was sent. Finally, as a reminder that hip hop has come a long way, the Doctor threw in Common's kaleidoscopic 2003 masterpiece Electric Circus .

CureD?

'I was surprised by just how much of this stuff blew me away,' Panthaki confesses when the Doctor calls a week later. 'I've been listening to Jeff Buckley in the car. It's intense, but really brilliant. I couldn't get on with Tim, though. It was a bit too out there for me.'

The patient has also found himself returning to Al Green and the leonine roar of Buju Banton. More problematic are the Specials. 'A bit too UB40 for me,' is his considered judgment. The Stone Roses fare better (particularly 'Made of Stone'), as well as the Jam. 'I can't believe how much they influenced Blur.'

And the winner? 'Common, by a long chalk, actually. It makes most rap music sound so cliched by comparison. I think I've found a new favourite artist.'

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