Zainab Masood (also Khan) is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nina Wadia."'Goodness Gracious Me' actress joins 'EastEnders' ", Digital Spy. She made her first appearance on 16 July 2007. Zainab is the mother of Syed (Marc Elliott), Shabnam (Zahra Ahmadi), Tamwar (Himesh Patel) and Kamil Masood (Arian Chikhlia). She is the wife of Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), who divorces her, and of Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti), whom she remarries after a divorce decades earlier, and who abuses her in both of their marriages. Wadia quit her role in 2012 and departed the series in the episode shown on 8 February 2013.
Character creation
Background Zainab Masood was one of several British Asian characters introduced in 2007 by the executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer. She made her first appearance in July 2007 as "a strong-willed woman in her early 40s who owns a string of post offices". Zainab was the first member of the Masood family introduced. The rest of her family, including Masood Ahmed, Shabnam Masood, Syed Masood and Tamwar Masood (Zainab's husband, daughter and two sons), have since joined the programme. The Masoods (without Syed) moved to a property on Albert Square in October 2007, and became regular characters. The Masoods were the first Muslim family to join the show since the Karims, who appeared between 1987 and 1990, and they were the first Asian family to be introduced since the unsuccessful Ferreira family in 2003. Panned by critics and viewers, the Ferreiras were dismissed as unrealistic by the Asian community in the UK, and were eventually axed in 2005.
The introduction of more ethnic minority characters was part of producer Diederick Santer's plan to "diversify", to make EastEnders "feel more 21st century"."The art of storytelling", The Guardian. Prior to 2007, EastEnders was heavily criticised by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), for not representing the East End's real "ethnic make-up". It was suggested that the average proportion of visible minority faces on EastEnders was substantially lower than the actual ethnic minority population in East London boroughs, and it therefore reflected the East End in the 1960s, not the East End of the 2000s. Furthermore, it was suggested that an element of "tokenism" and stereotyping surrounded many of the minority characters in EastEnders. The expansion of minority representation in EastEnders provides "more opportunities for audience identification with its characters, hence a wider appeal.""EastEnders ", www.museum.tv. Trevor Phillips, CRE chair, has said: "balanced representation of ethnic minority communities in the media matters. The industry has a key part to play in this, it is a powerful tool and can go a long way towards helping to build an integrated society.""Coronation Street and EastEnders battle it out for coveted CRE Race In the Media Award", cre.gov.uk.
Casting
Actress and comedian, Nina Wadia—best known for starring in the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me—was approached and subsequently cast in the role of Zainab. This was Wadia's second role in EastEnders. She had previously played a nurse, who tended to Michelle Fowler after she was shot in 1994."Nina Wadia", BBC. She had also auditioned for the role of Gita Kapoor, but lost the part to Shobu Kapoor. Wadia has commented: "I'm thrilled to join the show and I can't wait for Zainab to come to the Square and cause some trouble." "It's so nice to come to work and have some adult conversation, as at home I spend most of my day chatting to a three-year-old or my three-and-a-half-month-old baby.""Himesh, 17, joins EastEnders ", www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk. EastEnders executive producer, Diederick Santer, added: "I'm enormously excited to welcome Nina Wadia to EastEnders. She's a brilliant comedy actress and I'm sure her character Zainab will showcase all her comic and dramatic talents."
Personality Zainab is portrayed as a "tough-talking businesswoman". Described as "Walford's answer to Sir Alan Sugar", Zainab has a "direct manner" with "a tongue that could cut glass", which can be "hugely intimidating"."Zainab Masood ", BBC. This became evident shortly after the character's introduction, when Zainab become embroiled in an ongoing feud with her employee Denise Wicks (Diane Parish). An EastEnders spokesperson has commented: "[Zainab's] not there to make friends".
Despite her "fierce manner", Zainab is a "devoted mother", and she is also described as "great fun" with a "wicked sense of humour." Wadia has said that Zainab's relationship with her husband, Masood (Nitin Ganatra), allows for her character to show a "softer side". She adds "with him, you will get to see her smile!". Santer also said that she will be the new battle-axe on the show (replacing Pauline Fowler) — the "Asian" matriarch of the Square."", www.asiansinmedia.org. Wadia later described Zainab as someone she would not want to meet in real life: "I constantly say on set, 'I annoy myself' when I play Zainab. She's really irritating — the kind of woman that I'd never want to meet. I was on holiday last week, I went up to the Lake District, and every place that I stopped, people came up to me and said, 'Oh, you made me laugh last night'. One woman said to me, 'My husband screams at the television screen when you come on!' and I know then that I'm doing my job." Wadia later said "Zainab is quite the bitch, isn't she? I certainly wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley at night, but she is such good fun to play."
Wadia has also said that Zainab is the more traditional of the Masood family but is also conflicted: "She's the more devout Muslim, even though she was married when she was younger to another man before falling in love with Masood. [...] Being in this country at the age she's at, she has her traditional values but she fights terribly to be modern and to fit into Western society. Look at the way she dresses for a start. She only wears the traditional clothes when it's to her advantage, like if she has to meet the imam. So she does play the game, but deep down, Zainab's someone who'll come across as traditional but inside, she's a free spirit. That's what makes her so angry and conflicted, because she's constantly fighting herself."
Development
Pregnancy In August 2009, Zainab is forced come to terms with the fact that she is 15 weeks pregnant in her mid-40s. Zainab and Masood are ready to settle down as Shabnam has left home, Tamwar is going to university and Syed is preparing for marriage. An EastEnders source told entertainment website Digital Spy: "Zainab's in her mid-40s and was looking forward to spending some quality time with Masood, but the news certainly throws a spanner in the works. Their plans to see the world instantly fall apart and she faces a dilemma as to what to do." Wadia said she cried on hearing about the storyline, saying that she was not looking forward to wearing a pregnancy suit: "From a purely aesthetic point of view, the thought of having to come in early to put on foam and then sweat while filming... I get very hot on set and we have to pretend that it's winter before it is, so we have to wear extra clothing. Just the thought of it made me cry! Because I'm quite a new mum in real life, to have to have kids at work as well also made me tear up!" The storyline also includes EastEnders''' first scenes filmed in a mosque, which Wadia said was "huge" and "stunning". She said that Zainab is terrified due to her age and the fact it will interfere with her career, and she feels trapped because she does not want the baby but abortion is forbidden by her faith, adding "At this point, though, she's questioning whether she should go against her faith and abort. That's a huge thing for her." Finally Wadia said that she feels Zainab will be a "very funny mother".
Domestic violence In late 2011, Zainab reunites with her former husband Yusef. After months of manipulating Zainab, Yusef manages to marry her. A short-time before the marriage, Yusef begins abusing Zainab mentally and physically. He starts to confine her to the house uses Zainab's son Kamil to control her. Wadia explains that she wants the storyline to have a positive impact against real-life violence. She told BBC News :"I think the idea behind showing a strong woman like Zainab changing like this is to show that it can happen to even the strongest of women. They can change and they can be manipulated - especially if they're isolated from their friends and family. The manipulator can take advantage, so it's to prove that it can even happen to people like her. To be honest, if even one woman rings that Action Line at the end of the show and there's some difference made to her life, I'll feel like we've done our job," she continued. "It is a serious issue and I'm glad it's being highlighted. I hope that it wakes anyone up - not just women, I know that there are abused men out there as well. So if it gives anyone the strength to leave a relationship like that, we'll have done our job."
Wadia admitted that she was feeling "emotionally drained" from her scenes with Ace Bhatti. She told The People: "It's very draining. I'm putting myself into this very dark place which I know sadly is a reality for so many women. Zainab's confidence has been steadily eroded. She's feeling isolated and has fallen under Yusef's control. He wants revenge. She is totally in his power. I had to show this can happen to any woman, no matter how strong she seems. Zainab was strong and not naive, but a woman is vulnerable if the man hits the right psychological weak spots. But both Ace and I have found it hard to do. I've known Ace for a long time and we're good friends. He has been wonderful to work with on this and very concerned about me all the way through." Wadia has been given advice on the storyline from the Roshni refuge in Birmingham, which specializes in abuse within Asian families.
Wadia warns that Yusef will get worse as time goes on. Wadia told Inside Soap: "I was filming out on location recently with Ace and a bunch of women came over to him and said, 'God, you're such a horrible man!' It's funny because Ace is such a sweet man - and you haven't even seen the worst of Yusef yet!" Wadia continued: "Let's just say that what happens is the complete opposite of what you want to see. Zainab and Yusef share a dark and twisted love, and she definitely has feelings for him. It's not true and pure like what she used to have with Masood - and if Yusef manages to get her back to Pakistan, it will be the end for her. I wouldn't be surprised if Zainab ends up in some sort of home to recover from everything that's going to happen."
Departure