EastEnders legend admits she wants to make an explosive return to Walford
EASTENDERS actress Nina Wadia has admitted she would jump at the chance to return to Walford.
The actress, 54, played battle-axe Zainab Masood in the BBC soap for six years and wouldn’t hesitate if given the chance of a comeback.
Nina’s character, who was the matriarch of the Masood family, was involved in some huge storylines over the years.
Fans last saw her in Albert Square in 2013, when her character fled to Pakistan and married her cousin Haroon – much to the sadness of her ex-husband Masood Ahmed.
But during an appearance on The One Show on Monday night, Nina admitted she would love to go back to EastEnders.
When asked if she would return, the actress and comedienne replied: “Yes, absolutely. If I’m ever asked back, I would go back.”
Nina joined the BBC soap in 2007 as the new owner of the local Post Office.
Together with her husband Masood, her character Zainab initially had three children Syed, Shabnam and Tamwar.
The family left the Post Office amid debts and went on to run their own catering business, Masala Queen, in partnership with Ian Beale and Christian Clarke.
Over the years, the Masood faced many ups and downs, including financial difficulties, an unexpected pregnancy in Zainab’s 40s and infidelity.
One of the biggest storylines to rock the family, however, was the revelation that their eldest son, Syed, was gay.
Syed, played by Marc Elliott, initially married his fiancée Amira but then came out and revealed he had been having an affair with Christian (John Partridge).
Zainab later left Walford for Pakistan in 2013 and, despite her desire to now return, Nina admitted at the time that she had grown tired of playing the character.
“They didn’t want me to leave, they loved the character and everything was going well,” Nina said in an interview.
“I had just got to a point as an actor where I’m just not one of those actors. I’m an actor who needs to be challenged and pushed a bit more, I missed the creativity of coming up with a new character, so it was a tough decision.”
She also admitted: “Also, I was turning into my character, to which my husband amazingly said, ‘I don’t like the woman so can I have my wife back?’”
Nina, who appeared in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, received an OBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List for her services to charity and entertainment.