Masood Ahmed

Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nitin Ganatra. The character made his first appearance in episode 3452, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2007. Masood was introduced as part of the Masood family, a Pakistani-Muslim family gradually introduced across 2007 as part of plans to "diversify" the serial. This marked Ganatra's first role in soap opera and he was "nervous but excited" about joining the serial. His problematic marriage to Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), who he had previously starred alongside, served as a key storyline for the character throughout his tenure. Early storylines for the character include bankruptcy and struggling to accept his son Syed Masood's (Marc Elliott) homosexuality. Wadia and Ganatra received positive reception from viewers and critics and were nominated for several awards.

In 2011, the character had an affair with Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), which led to end of his and Zainab's marriage, before embarking on a feud with Zainab's husband Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti). Masood later begins a relationship with Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), which develops into a love triangle following the return of Carol's former partner, David Wicks (Michael French). The character has since entered into relationships with Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford), Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).

Ganatra's departure was announced on 1 September 2016, becoming the last member of the Masood family to leave. Masood made his departure in episode 5388, broadcast on 17 November 2016. In October 2017, it was announced that Masood would be returning to the show full-time, along with members of his extended family. He made a brief appearance on 28 November 2017 and returned permanently on 1 January 2018. On 26 January 2019, it was announced Ganatra had quit the soap again and Masood departed in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019, when Masood left Albert Square to live in Australia.

Masood was one of several Asian characters introduced in 2007 by executive producer Diederick Santer. He was first seen in October 2007 as Walford's new postman. Masood was the fourth character in the Masood family to make an appearance on-screen, joining his wife Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) and daughter Shabnam Masood (Zahra Ahmadi) who appeared in July 2007, and his son Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) who appeared in October 2007. They are later joined in 2009 by their eldest son Syed (Marc Elliott). 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 is part of Santer's plan to "diversify", to make EastEnders "feel more 21st century". 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." Trevor Phillips, CRE chair, 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."

Ganatra, who appeared in Bride and Prejudice and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was cast in the role of Masood Ahmed. Ganatra had never acted in a soap before his role in EastEnders. He commented: "I have grown up with this show and it seems to have become a part of the British fabric. But friends in America, Canada and India have all seen it or heard of it so it ain't [sic] just this island that it has an impact on... The executive producer, Diederick [Santer], along with casting agent Julia, have been very open and welcoming. I am nervous but excited. I have been watching the show and it is really gripping me. The quality of actors are great, so I am really looking forward to working with them."

Ganatra and Wadia have previous experience of playing a married couple. Both starred alongside each other in the play D'Yer Eat With Your Fingers? Wadia commented: "I'm absolutely thrilled as he's a fantastic actor. It's great fun working with Nitin as we both speak Gujarati which means we can have a bit of fun on set!... He is a good friend. Another good thing about Mrs Masood's great relationship with her husband is that he shows her softer side — with him, you will get to see her smile!"

Ganatra discussed his character in 2010, suggesting that Masood is very flexible: "You'll get a different response from him in almost every situation. He's not predicable. He has his lighter moments and then his darker moments. It gives a lot of colour to play with."