{"id":21643,"date":"2022-09-07T18:18:56","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T16:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1703954"},"modified":"2022-09-07T18:50:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T16:50:09","slug":"nina-wadia-teases-potential-for-eastenders-return-as-zainab-masood","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/nina-wadia-teases-potential-for-eastenders-return-as-zainab-masood\/","title":{"rendered":"Nina Wadia teases potential for EastEnders return as Zainab Masood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 07 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Nina Wadia has hinted that her EastEnders<\/a> character Zainab Masood could still return to the soap one day.<\/p>\n

The formidable character was last seen in 2013 when she left Walford with young son Kamil, who she shares with ex-husband Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Metro.co.uk<\/a>, Wadia was asked about her time on the BBC show, and shared that she has fond memories and wouldn\u2019t rule out a comeback if the opportunity arose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left nearly a decade ago but people meet me and say, \u2018When are you going back?\u2019 I would go back, of course. I had so much fun,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never say never, because you do not know where the next job is going to come from. EastEnders is very dear to me. I loved my time on it and made so many friends there.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she was reminded of the more dramatic side of soapland, Wadia replied: \u201cActually, I won the Best Comedy Performance in a Soap! I don\u2019t think EastEnders had ever won that before. They brought me in to make it funny and to liven it up a bit.<\/p>\n

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Zainab kept Christian and Syed apart in EastEnders.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cSoap had never been on my agenda but with Zainab Masood, they gave me the chance to create someone from scratch and they wanted her to be funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zainab\u2019s comedy value came with the fact that the character took herself very seriously. She was seen venting her outrage if a neighbour did something to irritate or inconvenience her.<\/p>

But when Zainab learned that son Syed (Marc Elliot) was gay and in love with Christian Clarke (John Partridge), the comedy was put to one side in favour of some incredibly powerful material. Who can forget that<\/em> New Year\u2019s Day episode which saw her confront her son\u2019s lover<\/a>?<\/p>\n

While Zainab\u2019s Muslim faith led her to force Syed to go through with a wedding to Amira Shah\u00a0(Preeya Kalidas), she did eventually come to accept his relationship with Christian. The character endured a lot during her six years in Albert Square, including domestic abuse.<\/p>\n

Wadia has since starred in Holby City and Death in Paradise, as well as appearing on Strictly Come Dancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She also revealed the reason behind her decision to leave EastEnders, saying: \u201cIt got too much for me. I wanted to do something different and freshen up again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a combination of that and making sure I spent a bit more time with my kids, because it\u2019s a hard job to do as a parent \u2013 you spend a lot of time away from your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n