{"id":46999,"date":"2024-03-01T20:55:32","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T19:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1999803"},"modified":"2024-03-01T23:45:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T22:45:22","slug":"who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Zainab Masood as EastEnders airs update on iconic character?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news came from her granddaughter Jade. <\/p>

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

Published: Friday, 01 March 2024 at 19:55 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Fans were given a rare update on iconic former character Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) in the latest instalment of EastEnders<\/a> (1st March 2024).<\/p>\n

Zainab\u2019s granddaughter, Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green), is currently visiting her father Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) in Walford. After getting into a row with Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) over rapist Dean\u2019s past, Jade received a voicemail from her mother, Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Jade told Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), Shabnam had relayed the news that she was moving to Pakistan, and she wanted Jade to join her. Her reasoning was because Jade\u2019s nan, Zainab, is poorly \u2013 although she added that the illness was \u201cnothing serious\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jean offered to accompany a worried Jade in telling Dean that she was moving to Pakistan, and when Jade explained about Zainab and revealed that, although she didn\u2019t really want to move so far away, she missed Shabnam and would be leaving in two weeks.<\/p>\n

Dean refused to allow this, and when Jade stormed out, Jean curtly pointed out that Dean was wasting precious time with Jade. But ahead of the teen\u2019s departure, you may be in need of a reminder on Zainab\u2019s time in Walford.<\/p>\n

So, who is Masood matriarch Zainab, and what happened to her? Read on for all you need to know.<\/p>\n

Who is Zainab Masood in EastEnders and what happened to her?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\nThe fierce, but often funny, Zainab arrived in Walford as new owner of the post office, where she clashed with employee Denise Fox (Diane Parish). The pair later formed a friendship, and Zainab and husband Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) began a catering partnership with Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), along with Jane\u2019s brother Christian Clarke (John Partridge).<\/p>\nZainab clashed with daughter Shabnam, who wanted to embrace both her cultures \u2013 something which didn\u2019t align with Zainab\u2019s stricter views. Zainab also welcomed her fourth child with Masood, a little boy named Kamil.<\/p>\nLater, son Syed (Marc Elliott) arrived, and it was revealed that Syed had previously stolen from his family. Ahead of Syed\u2019s wedding to Amira Shah (Preeya Kalidas), Zainab discovered that he was having an affair with Christian. Zainab ordered Syed to go through with the marriage, but in time, Syed\u2019s secret was exposed and he and Christian became a couple.<\/p>\nZainab disowned her son, unable to accept him as a gay Muslim. But she was in for a bigger shock when her ex-husband Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) arrived, and it emerged that Yusef\u2019s family set Zainab on fire decades earlier. But when her middle son Tamwar (Himesh Patel) wed Yusef\u2019s daughter Afia (Meryl Fernandes), the Masoods were forced to accept them into their lives.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\nAs Zainab and Masood\u2019s marriage fell apart, Yusef manipulated her and drugged her, causing her to be hospitalised. Masood divorced Zainab, who married Yusef, oblivious to his sinister actions. Yusef turned violent with her, and Afia later learned that Yusef was directly responsible for the fire all those years ago.<\/p>\nZainab decided to forgive this when she found out, but when she planned to escape the abusive union, Yusef beat her. After a confrontation with Masood, Yusef started a fire at the B&B. Zainab spotted Yusef gloating outside, and in revenge for all he had put her through, she lied that Afia was trapped in the blaze.<\/p>\nWhile Yusef entered the burning building to save Afia, so did Tamwar, much to Zainab\u2019s distress. Yusef died, while Tamwar sustained severe burns and required skin grafts. Zainab reunited with Masood, but later confessed to unwittingly causing Tamwar\u2019s injuries. The family overcame this bombshell, and Zainab warmly accepted Christian and Syed as a couple.<\/p>\nBut as Zainab and Masood prepared to remarry, her snobbery shone through and Masood admitted he was unhappy in their relationship. Zainab and Kamil moved to Pakistan in 2013, and news later reached Albert Square that she had become engaged, although the wedding was later called off. Zainab sent Kamil to stay with Masood for Shabnam\u2019s wedding to Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami).<\/p>\nMasood announced that Zainab had been planning to cut ties with her family, and he refused her access to Kamil unless she returned to collect him herself, but she never did. In 2016, Zainab phoned to tell Masood she was getting married in Pakistan, but Tamwar wasn\u2019t keen to accept her invitation to attend, as Zainab hadn\u2019t been there for her loved ones in recent years.<\/p>\nThe last we heard of Zainab was that her latest husband was divorcing her, and Masood called to offer her comfort, before flying out to see her with Kamil. With Zainab now said to be unwell, it remains to be seen whether we\u2019ll hear more about her if Jade does indeed exit for good.<\/p>\nRead more:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-spoilers-whitney-dean-accident\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6 EastEnders spoilers for next week: Whitney Dean in horror accident as she visits Bianca Jackson<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-casts-scrapper-lola-campbell-britney-whitney-newsupdate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders casts award-winning child star as troubled newcomer in Whitney story<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-confirms-episode-format-schedule-whitney-bianca-newsupdate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders confirms major format change for special Bianca Jackson return episode<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-shona-mcgarty-whitney-deceit-newsupdate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EastEnders\u2019 Shona McGarty teases Whitney\u2019s final weeks: \u201cDrama, deceit and chaos\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nEastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.<\/strong><\/p>\nVisit our dedicated\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\">EastEnders<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\">TV Guide<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\">Streaming Guide<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\nTry Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription\/?utm_term=evergreen-article\">subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The news came from her granddaughter Jade. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":47000,"template":"","categories":[1,2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-scaled.jpg",2560,1417,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-300x166.jpg",300,166,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-768x425.jpg",768,425,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-1024x567.jpg",800,443,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-1536x850.jpg",1536,850,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-is-zainab-masood-as-eastenders-airs-update-on-iconic-character-2048x1134.jpg",2048,1134,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The news came from her granddaughter Jade.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/46999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}