Nitin Ganatra has teased "fireworks" for Masood’s family in ‘EastEnders’
The actor – who plays Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap – has suggested that viewers should expect tension between his character and his on-screen daughter Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar) following her return from Pakistan.
Talking to BANG Showbiz at the Inside Soap Awards (01.10.14), Nitin explained: "[There are] lots of father-daughter fireworks coming up. Shabnam has come back from Pakistan with a very head-strong attitude and it’s kind of put the laid back Masood on his back foot."
The 46-year-old went on to state that the friction between the two characters will expose parts of Masood’s personality which haven’t been shown before, as he struggles to deal with Shabnam’s behaviour.
He continued: "She’s a feisty young lady who tells her dad what to do. I think the storylines developing at the moment will kind of be exploring that relationship between father and daughter and switching the roles a little bit hopefully.
"We might see a darker Masood, a bit more possessive with his daughter than you usually expect Masood to be. So they’re going to be exploring this, we might see a wilder side to Shabnam, so everything might get flipped on its head."
The Kenyan-born actor who has appeared in the soap since 2007, also expressed his frustration about being part of the only Asian family on Albert Square, admitting that he feels pressured to represent all elements of Asian culture.
He explained: "It’s a very diverse culture, being Asian, so being the only Asian family does have a certain pressure on it.
Diversity is when you don’t notice how many different cultures there are on TV, because it’s not under a microscope. When there’s only one, it’s going to be too much pressure."
Nitin Ganatra teases EastEnders ‘fireworks’ for Masood’s family
