"Our hope is that we can encourage people."
The BBC soap opera EastEnders has been a firm staple of UK television for almost 40 years.
It debuted in 1985 and thrived on portraying characters from all walks of life.
The show embraces all races, sexualities, and abilities, making it one of the most inclusive.
Since it began, EastEnders has given powerful storylines featuring iconic South Asian characters.
These plots are captivating and sensitively told.
In this article, DESIblitz emphasises the storylines of such characters.
Join us as we proudly present six South Asian storylines of EastEnders.
Syed & Christian
In late 2006, EastEnders acquired a new Executive Producer, Diederick Santer.
Santer’s plans for the show included a desire to make it feel “more 21st century”.
To do this, he introduced more Asian characters.
Among these were the popular Masood family. The elder son of the family was introduced in 2009.
His name is Syed Masood (Marc Elliott). One of Syed’s key plots is that he struggles to reconcile his beliefs and sexuality.
Syed is engaged to Amira Shah (Preeya Kalidas) but falls in love with Christian Clarke (John Partridge).
This triggers a barrage of hate towards Syed, who is ostracised from his family and his community.
However, in the end, he manages to win them around, especially his mother Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia).
In 2012, when Marc decided to leave the show, Christian departed with Syed.
The producer who oversaw the exit, Lorraine Newman, explained:
“When Marc announced he had decided to move on, we had a tough decision to make.
“After numerous conversations, which included John, it was decided that there is only one outcome for Syed and Christian.”
Tamwar & Afia
Continuing with the Masood family, we come to their middle son Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel).
Awkward, nerdy, and socially inept, Tamwar generates humour with every line that he utters.
In 2009, a love interest was introduced for the character.
The outgoing, carefree Afia Masood (Meryl Fernandes) arrives as a ray of light in Tamwar’s existence.
Afia and Tamwar quickly fall in love, but in true EastEnders fashion, things aren’t destined to run smoothly.
It soon emerges that Afia is the daughter of Dr Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti), who is the ex-husband of Tamwar’s mother Zainab.
When Zainab had an affair with Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), Yusef set her on fire.
This initially causes friction in Afia’s relationship with Tamwar, but they eventually marry with the blessings of their families.
However, Yusef is determined to win Zainab back. Through manipulation and coercive control, he manages to separate Masood and Zainab and marry the latter.
The marriage is punctuated by domestic violence and abuse that Yusef exhibits to Zainab.
This climaxes with Yusef setting fire to the B&B, in which he perishes and Tamwar ends up badly scarred.
Unfortunately, Tamwar and Afia’s marriage was unable to survive the following trauma and Afia left Tamwar in 2012.
Shabnam and Kush’s Stillborn Baby
Along with the sons of the Masood family, it is fitting to highlight their daughter as well.
Originally played by Zahra Ahmadi, the role of Shabnam Masood was recast to Rakhee Thakrar in 2014.
Towards the end of that year, Shabnam fell in love with market trader Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami).
She becomes pregnant with Kush’s baby but devastating news lies ahead for the couple.
Tragically, the baby dies while still in Shabnam’s womb, resulting in her having a stillborn son.
The baby is named Zaair and the stillbirth is one of the most heartbreaking yet powerful storylines in EastEnders.
Delving into the storyline, Rakhee says:
“[Stillbirth] is an experience that profoundly changes a person’s life forever, and we feel a heavy responsibility to tell the truth of this.
“Our hope is that we can encourage people to talk about their experiences and their babies that have died.”
Shabnam and Kush later marry but things turn sour when Shabnam discovers that Kush fathered a son with her friend Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
For a while, Kush lets Stacey’s partner Martin Fowler (James Bye) believe that he is the actual dad, but Shabnam is unconvinced.
Ultimately, Shabnam chooses to move on from Kush and she makes the iconic black cab exit with her daughter Jade (Amaya Edward).
Suki & Eve
In January 2020, Balvinder Sopal made her EastEnders entry as the formidable matriarch of the Panesar brood, Suki.
Suki Panesar is initially portrayed as heterosexual. Due to her strict principles, this causes a fraught relationship between her and her bisexual daughter Ashneet ‘Ash’ Panesar (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha).
However, it soon comes to light that Suki also has feelings for women.
This is shown when she tries to kiss Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) before eventually falling for Eve Unwin (Heather Peace).
With electrifying and passionate chemistry between them, Suki and Eve have become one of the show’s most popular couples, with fans branding them ‘Sukeve’.
However, things threaten to fall apart for them when Suki’s controlling, abusive husband Nishandeep ‘Nish’ Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) arrives.
Nish flies into a rage when he discovers Suki’s affair with Eve, ordering his son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) to kill Eve.
Ravi cannot go through with this and he lets Eve run, but she soon returns to Suki.
In 2024, Suki’s divorce from Nish was confirmed, leaving her to freely continue her loving relationship with Eve.
With great writing and talented actors at the centre of the storyline, it is no wonder that this plot is one of the show’s finest offerings.
The Six
If there’s one storyline that truly kept viewers hooked throughout its run, it is ‘The Six’.
In February 2023, a flash-forward sequence showed six female characters standing in the Queen Vic pub over a male body.
Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) kneels beside him and checks his pulse, revealing cufflinks on his sleeve.
She whispers: “He’s dead.”
Suki, Stacey, Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) look on in horror.
This sequence paved the way for an exciting, twisting, and thrilling storyline, which kept viewers guessing for the next 10 months.
Suspects were revealed, clues crept in at various points, and cufflinks became a key part of the show’s iconography.
Forums, social media sites, and blogs about EastEnders were set ablaze with galvanised debates and discussions.
Finally, on Christmas Day 2023, all was revealed. Nish found himself in the Vic surrounded by the women.
He forcefully tried to take Suki back with him, resulting in Denise hitting him on the head with a bottle.
Nish collapsed, but surprisingly, he wasn’t the dead man, despite being the body from the flash-forward scene.
This turned out to be Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) who arrived at the pub and tried to strangle Sharon.
In a desperate attempt to save Sharon’s life, Linda fatally stabbed Keanu with a meat thermometer.
The women were then bound together in an unexpected, life-changing way as they vowed to protect each other.
It is refreshing that a popular South Asian character like Suki was included in such a gripping story.
It once again highlights the diversity EastEnders is known for.
Nugget’s Steroids
The aforementioned Ravi Gulati shares a son with Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy).
He is none other than Davinder ‘Nugget’ Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury).
Nugget is a wayward teen who asks his friend Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) for steroids after seeing him bulk up after using them.
However, a disaster is ahead for Nugget, as he collapses due to kidney failure caused by the steroids.
In July 2024, it emerged that Nugget may need dialysis for the rest of his life as a result of the incident.
Denzel was subsequently arrested for supplying illegal substances to a minor.
When the BBC announced the steroid storyline, they said:
“The storyline will follow the experience of Denzel, and those around him, as he is introduced to steroids, highlighting the influence that social media has on his perception of body image as well as the impact on his mental health and relationships as a result.”
When Nugget awoke from his unconsciousness, he also threatened to tell everyone that Nish had kissed Priya, thereby proving that he has the Panesar/Gulati menacing streak in him.
Via these storylines, EastEnders has proven that its South Asian characters are not just there to tick boxes.
In these stories, these characters shine with glory, showcasing their strength and essentialism to the show.
Versatile actors portray them which makes these plots all the more entertaining and gripping.
So, if you’re a soap lover, go ahead and embrace all the glory that these EastEnders storylines have to offer.
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