EastEnders star Nina Wadia says Zainab role "ruined" her career
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Former EastEnders star Nina Wadia has admitted taking on the role of Zainab Masood put a temporary halt to her career.
The actress and comedian, recently seen in Netflix's The Sandman and Disney's live-action Aladdin, played the role of Zainab from 2007 to 2013.
Speaking on Loose Women on Thursday (June 15), Wadia said portraying a soap matriarch prevented her from being considered for other roles.
Related: EastEnders clears up a flashforward mystery with George scene
"I thought maybe I'd go back into comedy [after leaving EastEnders] but Zainab ruined my career for a year because no casting director would touch me," she said.
"My agent would put me forward and they'd go, 'No, she's Zainab' and I was like, 'I'm not actually Zainab. I can do other things.'"
Wadia then explained the reason why she decided to exit the BBC One soap, admitting she wanted to "freshen up" after years in Walford.
Related: EastEnders reveals update on missing villain
"It was fun, I loved my time on EastEnders," she said. "It's one of those shows that when I was in it, I absolutely did enjoy it."
"It's towards the end of, kind of, I think I'm one of those actors who need to be doing different things," she continued.
"It does happen in soaps where you hit a time where you think, 'OK, I'm getting a bit bored. The storyline is going over the same kind of ground,' and I thought, 'I just wanna freshen up.'"
Wadia is part of the cast of ITVX horror comedy Count Abdulla. Premiering today (June 15) on ITV's streaming platform, the series follows a British-Pakistani Muslim doctor, played by The Bay's Arian Nik, who's transformed into a vampire.
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
You Might Also Like
