Ex-EastEnders star Nitin Ganatra reveals he’s working in brother’s paper shop three years after quitting soap as Masood
EX-EASTENDERS star Nitin Ganatra has revealed that he’s working in brother’s shop three years after quitting the soap.
The actor – who played Masood Ahmed on the BBC One show – said he enjoys helping out at the family corner shop in between breaks from his acting roles.
Swapping East End for Coventry, Nitin explained that he’s been getting used to the paper round on weekends.
“The corner shop has been there for over 45 years,” he said on the Made in the Midlands podcast.
“My brother runs it still. On Sunday, I was doing the papers with him.
“I was up at 4.30am doing the papers and trying not to mess up the paper round.
“It’s still got penny chews and the jars of sweets, all those lovely little things.”
However, the actor revealed the shop and his brother were attacked by racists thugs just last year.
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“The windows were smashed and my brother was attacked last year.
“But I’m talking specifically about the 70s and 80s,” he said.
“Often, you’d get people throwing bricks at the windows and the house, they would come in and smash the shop up.
“My dad was attacked, but he fought back as well, and my brother was attacked, and my mum was spat at. It wasn’t a daily occurrence, but it was an angry, volatile time.”
The Bride and Prejudice star went onto explain that he was racially abused at school verbally and physically.
Nitin recalled: “It was horrible at school, it really was. I’m not in touch with many school friends, but I’ve got one friend who lives in the Midlands, he’s a musician, and I remember him saying to me ‘what I liked about you was you got beaten up every day and called the P-word, and you still got up and carried on as if nothing had happened.’
“Obviously, people will now say that is called trauma and PTSD, that will pop up sooner or later.
“But I just thought that was normal behaviour. You just go ‘this is normal to be called the P-word and spat at.'”
Masood was the lovable postman and later became joint restaurant owner of Walford East.
Aside from his constant rows with wife Zainab, Masood was part of a number of memorable storylines including his struggle to accept his son’s sexuality and his affair with Jane Beale which resulted in the breakdown of his marriage.
But Masood didn’t stop there, he went onto woo Carol Jackson and had romances with Cathy Beale and Carmel Kazemi.
Actor Nitin had already starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Bride and Prejudice before joining EastEnders.
In September 2016 he announced he was leaving the role as the last remaining member of the Masood family in Albert Square.
However, fans were thrilled when Nitin decided to reprise his role in November 2017, bringing with him his two relatives Uncle Arshad and Mariam.
He left the soap for good in January 2019 and has gone onto star in other British dramas such as Channel 4’s The Slate.
Speaking about his exit, he said: “I can now venture off to new horizons as an actor. I am still deeply attached to Masood and have invested much emotion into making this character memorable.
“I am in awe of how loved he is by audiences and fans of all ages, from all cultures and religions and walks of life. Thank you. I am humbled by the love.”
The actor has since appeared as a teacher in CBBC series The Worst Witch and a lawyer in Trial and Retribution.
Meanwhile, on-screen wife Zainab Masood, played by Nina Wadia told The Sun exclusively that she will ‘100 per cent’ return to EastEnders and wants bosses to call her.
Nina said: “There is always a chance of a comeback, if Enders rang us and said come back, we’d gladly go.
“We had the time of our lives doing that show.”
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