"Everybody asks if I would return."
The BBC’s EastEnders has a long, rich history of South Asian characters.
These characters include people of Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Pakistani heritage.
One such character is Masood Ahmed, played by Nitin Ganatra.
Nitin made his debut as Masood in EastEnders in 2007. He was the postman of Albert Square, and he owned The Argee Bhajee with his family.
Masood was the husband of Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) and the father of Syed (Marc Elliott), Tamwar (Himesh Patel), Shabnam (Zahra Ahmadi/Rakhee Thakrar), and Kamil.
During his initial stint, Masood’s storylines included his problematic marriage to Zainab, struggling to come to terms with Syed’s homosexuality, an affair with Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), and an enmity with Zainab’s ex-husband, Dr Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti).
Nitin chose to leave EastEnders in 2016, but returned a year later with new additions to the Masood family.
In 2019, Masood left the show once again, and Nitin is yet to reprise his iconic role.
The actor, who also appeared in films including Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Gurinder Chadha’s Bride & Prejudice (2004), recently discussed whether he would return to the soap.
He said: “With EastEnders, everybody asks if I would return every day. I’m not even joking.
“I’m not exaggerating – three to four times a day, by people in the street or on social media.
“I would never say no – I love Masood.
“He’s a funny character, but he also has heart.”
“With Masood, we crossed a threshold where we were getting people from every walk of life, from every class.
“African people, Chinese people, saying, ‘I love you, Masood’.
“He’s the sort of character that I would love to have a drink with, but also say, ‘You gotta calm it down with women’.”
Meanwhile, Nitin Ganatra was last seen in Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma (2025), in which he starred alongside The Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar.
He also reunited with his former EastEnders co-star, Danny Dyer.
EastEnders is currently exploring the stalking ordeal of Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), and is gearing up for the returns of Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) and Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson).
You can read an exclusive interview DESIblitz conducted with Nitin Ganatra here.
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