Nitin Ganatra was "humbled" to receive the Outstanding Achievement in Television prize at The Asian Awards.
The 51-year-old actor – best known for his role as Masood Ahmed on BBC One soap ‘EastEnders’ – says it was an "honour" to be recognised for his work at the ninth annual ceremony which took place at Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, London.
He wrote on Twitter: "Morning all. Want to say thank you to @PaulSagoo & @TheAsianAwards for this award! It’s humbling & an honour to be recognised for my work.
"And it’s nice to be appreciated. I will enjoy this moment for quite some time. Thank you everyone for the love you showed last night. (sic)"
The soap star highlighted the importance of diversity on screen during the ceremony and believes more minorities need to be represented to make shows "relatable".
Speaking at the event, he said: "It’s about making the show relatable. When it’s a show that you dip in and out of, you’ve got to be able to immediately relate to it. That’s why it has to be diverse."
The official Asian Awards Twitter account praised the actor, writing: "Many congrats to our Outstanding Achievement in Television winner @GanatraNitin!
"Having graced our screens as Masood Ahmed in the UK’s most popular soap Eastenders since 2007, Nitin has become one of the nation’s most popular and best loved actors (sic)"
The account added: "Recognised as one of the most iconic & nationally renowned Television characters, starred in over 700 episodes of Eastenders & is a multiple award winner.
"This year we honour #NitinGanatra for his Outstanding Achievement in Television @hereandnow #TheAsianAwards" (sic)
Elsewhere at the event, the cast and crew of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ were honoured with the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award while cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed received the accolade for Outstanding Achievement in Sports.
Nitin Ganatra ‘humbled’ to receive Asian Awards accolade
