Ex-EastEnders star Nina Wadia was asked for a selfie during labour

"It was a slightly strange sensation."

Dan Seddon
Updated ·2 min read
Nina Wadia poses with her medal after being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on February 9, 2022. (Photo by Steve Parsons / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Nina Wadia has revealed the "strangest place" she's ever been fussed over by a fan, having played EastEnders favourite Zainab Masood for six years up until 2013.

In conversation with The Daily Star, the soap actress cast her mind back to the day she gave birth to her teenage son Aidan, when an eagle-eyed member of the public spotted her on the labour ward.

"The strangest place I've been recognised was when I was giving birth. They asked for a selfie. It was really odd timing," said Wadia, who also shares a daughter named Tia with husband Raiomond Mirza.

Read more: Nina Wadia 'gutted' to be first voted off 'Strictly': I had so much more to give

"It was a very unusual time to ask. It's not a good thing to happen when you're mid-delivery! My response was, 'How about not now... maybe after.'"

Binita Prabhu (NINA WADIA);Suni Bulsara (RAHUL ARYA) in Doctors (BBC)
As well as EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing, the actress has appeared in Doctors as Binita Prabhu. (BBC)

Generally, though, the 54-year-old finds fan attention highly gratifying.

"I get recognised from EastEnders all the time," she added. "I love that the character was that special to people. It means something to me.

"I'm very happy about that."

Read more: Nina Wadia reveals sex secrets as she brushes aside 'Strictly curse' worries

This comes after Wadia confessed to developing anxiety-induced insomnia during the early years of motherhood.

"I wish somebody had told me when I decided to have a family that I'd never sleep again. The night is where my anxiety lies because I'm a worrier," she shared in January. "If an issue or a problem is upsetting me, I will not sleep until I find a solution and a lot of times, that solution doesn't exist.

"First, Tia had colic for three years, so I'd lie awake all night worrying about that. Over the years, I'd wake 15 or 20 times because of restlessness rooted in stress over everything in my life from my house to my career."

Then, for the first two years of Aidan's life, Wadia "never slept more than two hours" per night due to her son's issues with insulin.

Watch: Strictly's Nina Wadia on her son's battle with Type 1 diabetes