| Shabnam Masood | |||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Zahra Ahmadi | ||||||||||||||
| Created by | Diederick Santer | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2007–08 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 17 July 2007 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 24 October 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1987 | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Post Office worker | ||||||||||||||
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Shabnam Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Zahra Ahmadi.[1] She made her first appearance on 17 July 2007. On 8 September 2008, it was reported that Zahra Ahmadi had quit the soap, as her character was not given enough "meaty storylines".[2] She made her final appearance on 24 October 2008.[3]
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Shabnam, the daughter of Masood Ahmed and Zainab Masood, appeared initially as a University graduate, who had not yet decided what career path she wanted to follow. She had aspirations to travel and made secret plans to leave Walford, but she was forced to rethink when she discovered her parents were struggling financially. Shabnam's lack of direction, friendship with Dawn Swann and recreational activities angered Zainab, causing friction between mother and daughter.
Zainab tried to set Shabnam up with an eligible Muslim bachelor in March 2008, Jalil Iqbal. Despite her expectations, Shabnam found Jalil attractive and they kissed, but Jalil offended the Masoods by suggesting that modern Muslim women like Shabnam provided "great entertainment" but were not marriage material. Zainab was offended at his "arrogance and chauvinism" and she sent him away.
Shabnam and Zainab had a heated argument about Shabnam's behaviour after Zainab caught her poledancing in a club. Zainab was ashamed that Shabnam wanted to embrace British culture more than her family's traditional Muslim culture. Zainab warned Shabnam about the dangers of going against her people's culture and society's rules, relaying an incident in Pakistan, where a girl was burnt as punishment by her family for secretly dating a boy her family felt was unsuitable. Shabnam, realising the woman was her mother, admitted that after hearing that story, she was unable to feel proud of her culture; however, Zainab had many positive things to say about the Muslim culture too. Shabnam felt confused; she did not know where she really belonged. She wanted to go to Pakistan to figure out who she was. She left for Karachi in October 2008, to explore her culture in Pakistan; this time she had both her parents' blessing to do so.
Shabnam Masood was one of several Asian characters introduced in 2007 by executive producer, Diederick Santer.[4] She was first seen in July 2007, the episode after the introduction of her mother, Zainab (played by Nina Wadia), who became Walford's new postmistress. An EastEnders source commented: "Shabnam's definitely going to turn heads. She's 21, fresh from university and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. To keep her going, her mum gives her a job at the Post Office."[4] Shabnam appeared intermittently until October 2007, when the Masood family, including Masood Ahmed and Tamwar Masood (Shabnam's father and brother), moved to a property on Albert Square and became regular characters.
The Masoods were the first Muslim family to join the show since the Karims, who appeared between 1987 and 1990, and they were the first Asian family to be introduced since the unsuccessful Ferreira family in 2003. Panned by critics and viewers, the Ferreiras were dismissed as unrealistic by the Asian community in the UK, and were eventually axed in 2005.[5][6]
The introduction of more ethnic minority characters is part of producer Diederick Santer's plan to "diversify", to make EastEnders "feel more 21st century".[7] Prior to 2007, EastEnders was heavily criticised by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), for not representing the East End's real "ethnic make-up". It was suggested that the average proportion of visible minority faces on EastEnders was substantially lower than the actual ethnic minority population in East London boroughs, and it therefore reflected the East End in the 1960s, not the East End of the 2000s. Furthermore, it was suggested that an element of "tokenism" and stereotyping surrounded many of the minority characters in EastEnders.[8] The expansion of minority representation in EastEnders provides "more opportunities for audience identification with its characters, hence a wider appeal."[9] Trevor Phillips, CRE chair, has said: "balanced representation of ethnic minority communities in the media matters. The industry has a key part to play in this, it is a powerful tool and can go a long way towards helping to build an integrated society."[10]
Actress Zahra Ahmadi, a graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, was cast as Shabnam. She has commented: "I've watched EastEnders as long as I can remember and I'm really excited to be joining the cast. It was very surreal walking into the Square and seeing all the faces I'd grown up watching. I felt like I knew them".[4] EastEnders executive producer, Diederick Santer, has said "Newcomer Zahra is a real find. She's warm and great fun. I'm confident the Masoods will be a big hit with viewers."[4]
It was reported on 8 September 2008 that Zahra Ahmadi had quit her role as Shabnam "after producers refused to give her meaty storylines" and discovering that she "barely [featured] in new scripts."[2] A source at the time told The Sun that "Zahra was really disappointed with the way scriptwriters used her character. You hardly ever saw her on screen. If she had been given exciting scenes she would have stayed for a long time [...] she began to feel she was wasting her time."[2] Ahmadi was quoted as saying: "I’ve made the tough decision to leave as I'm still young and I want to try other roles. But I’m really happy the door has been left open for me to return as it has been a great experience."[2] Diederick Santer added: "Zahra is a fine actress, even though she's leaving, the door is always open for her to return. The Masood family have been a great addition to Albert Square so there's plenty more to come from them in future."[11] The character made her exit in October 2008, leaving England to find her roots in Pakistan.
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