Nina Wadia chats Syed, Christian and the reveal

[Perdita]

In the wake of EastEnders' special live anniversary instalment (which airs this Friday at 8pm, as if you needed to be reminded), the spotlight's thrown back onto the Masood clan as Zainab goes into labour.

To read all about Zainab's sweatfest on the floor of the Masala Queen in the words of actress Nina Wadia, then I'd suggest having a butchers at this page right here.

Otherwise, here's the second half of the interview which is pure Chryed for all you Syed and Christian fans. Without further ado, here's what Nina had to say...

What did you think to the New Year episodes?
"I had a heart attack! I went away for that whole time because I needed to after filming that. I just wanted a break. When I came back my phone went nuts! The text messages were just ridiculous! I had some really lovely things said to me and it was just amazing, then finally Nitin [Ganatra] rang me and said, 'You were really outstanding, you've got to sit down and watch it'. I sat down with my husband and we just watched the episodes back to back. I loved it! I felt very happy and incredibly blessed to be working with Marc and Johnny. I thought they were amazing and I really believed their love story."

Do you think they're meant to be together?
"After watching that? Definitely. I feel like such a bitch! (Laughs) When I watched it I was like, 'You evil cow, just leave them be - they love each other!' It's like Romeo and Romeo."

Apparently, you just went for John during filming?
"When I read that I knew there'd be a slap in there somewhere - you can't have an EastEnders wedding without a slap - but when it said 'and then she attacks him' I thought, 'Do you know how big this man is?' I thought, 'How am I going to do this?' When we met before the scene, Johnny was already in the zone as he always is and I was panicking a bit. They had a stunt co-ordinator on set for the slap and I thought, 'What? We need a stunt co-ordinator for a slap?' But it was actually really good that we had him because it looked incredible. The actual slap worked a treat. Then Johnny goes, 'Listen, I know you - you'll be in it when you're doing this so just go for it! It doesn't matter if you hurt me'. So like an idiot I did it and came away with my hands bruised and cut, thinking, 'Hang on a minute! You tricked me!' He's so incredibly fit, this man - he's like Superman!"

Do you think Zainab reacted fairly well, considering?
"Oh gosh. Put it this way, I had to actually get an image into my mind that would upset me to that degree. Normally if you have something very emotional like that you can draw on an experience within your own life but this is a very particular one where I don't actually feel that way - I'm not a homophobe so it was a bit alien to play and my kids in real life are way too young so it's not something I could actually relate to at all. I didn't really know what to do, but when I got in there Johnny said you've got to think of something that really repulses you to get the reaction that you want. I did - and that's the only way I could do it because as a person watching it, I'd want these two guys to get together because they love each other."

Zainab's on their case to have a baby now… Do you think she knows that Syed's accepted who and what he is and that she isn't going to change him?
"It's endlessly - I annoy myself with those lines! To give Zainab her due she's a very complex character. In her late teens she herself was married to a complete stranger and then she fell in love with Masood and so left that person to be with her love. Somewhere in her she knows that what she's doing is wrong because if she wants her son to be truly happy, she needs to let him be as brave as she was but at the same time she's a mother. She's protecting her son. In her little Zainab world she's been brought up to believe that homosexuality is wrong and evil - even that it doesn't exist - but then she's got to come to terms with the fact that her son is gay but if he only just has a baby with his wife everything will be okay..."

Do you think she will ever come round?
"I genuinely hope so. I think there is that ability for growth with Zainab. She may be stubborn, she may be pig-headed, she may be old-fashioned, she may be a whole bunch of things, but I truly believe that at the end of the day this woman will do what makes her son happy. It'll take a while to get there, though."

Where does that story all go from here?
"I've got a couple of the scripts for the next lot. What I want is for people to have sympathy for Zainab, whether they agree with her actions or not. She has to still be that woman we first saw - who's funny and feisty and will fight for what she believes but people understand that's why she does what she does."

How would you like to see it all come out, as it were? Nitin said he would like it to be a funny reveal...
"I would as well but I think it's gone too far now to end up being that way. I think it's going to be one of those major crisis moments for the Masoods. I don't know if they will survive it - I think they might break up over it, it's that bad. I really hope they don't do that because no matter what else happens, these two belong together. I think it'll go very, very wrong and very bad before it gets better, but I genuinely hope they will let this character grow and let her see the error of her ways and allow these two guys to be together. At the end of the day, it genuinely is a beautiful love story."

Do you find it difficult playing someone who's not meant to know about Syed and Christian being together?
"Believe me it's really hard! The scene I had with Syed where he actually comes out to me and he has to cry, we were laughing our heads off before filming - because Marc and I just laugh constantly - and I had to say to him, 'Go away! Go to the other side of the room because I can't do this if I like you!' It was very hard. He's got the greatest sense of humour I've ever come across in my life and that's why we get along so well! He's a gem of a guy."

DS

[Perdita]

EastEnders' comic battleaxe Zainab Masood takes centre stage post-anniversary week as she finds herself puffing, panting and breathing heavily on the floor with her husband Masood in the Masala Queen office. After an argument with son Syed, Zainab - played by 41-year-old Nina Wadia - ends up trapped in the onset of pregnancy. Unable to escape (and with the phone line conveniently down), Zainab emails for help but it's Christian who discovers her predicament. Barging down the door, Christian's taken aback by Zainab's situation and offers to call an ambulance. Zainab, however, only asks for Masood to be by her side. We recently gave Nina Wadia a call to find out more.

What happens during baby week?
"I'm glad that this storyline goes quite fast - playing labour isn't fun! Cheryl Fergison said, 'Don't hyperventilate!' because she'd done her filming so I was talking to her about it and she said, 'Pace yourself - you will be exhausted by the end of the day - it's like real labour!' She was right - I almost did pass out. There was a really surreal moment where all I could see was Nitin's face in a small circle and everything around him was all black because I was hyperventilating. But I went for it - I thought this is probably the last time in my career I'll get to play having a baby and I could actually do it realistically for once having had them! It's not pretty, I can assure you of that!"

There's an argument with Christian and Syed, right?
"I see the two of them standing together on the street. That upsets me because I just don't want Christian anywhere near Syed. I want him far away - I want him to be living in another city. I yell at Syed to get back to the Unit because the telephone engineer is turning up because the phones aren't working. I end up at the Masala Unit and I have a massive row with Syed. Out of instinct I slapped him, even though it wasn't in the script! He was brilliant, though - he didn't know I was going to do it and he went with it. He came up to me afterwards and said, 'That's not fair!' and I said, 'I couldn't help it - I really needed to slap you!' (Laughs) Now he's desperate to find a moment to slap me!"

How does Zainab end up trapped?
"After I slap him and say, 'Have respect for your mother', he says, 'Why when you have no respect for me?' and he walks out and slams the door. I go to open the door to yell at him and the doorknob comes off in my hand! In classic Zainab comedy-style, instead of panicking, she's typing a complaint letter to the phone company saying, 'Your telephone engineer is late!' Which I think is genius comedy writing, I really do. Then of course she has a stress attack and realises it's not a stress attack, it's labour pains. She tries to keep calm and sends an email to her family at home because she's at least got the email working, but of course the phone's not working and she doesn't have her mobile on her. She sends an email to her family saying, 'Whoever's reading this, come and get me. I'm stuck by myself in the Masala Unit'."

She doesn't tell Christian that she's in labour?
"Christian arrives to have a go at me. I try to hide from him but he hears in my voice that I'm distressed and he says, 'Open the door you silly woman! If you're not alright let me help you!' I refuse so he breaks the door down. He comes into the room and I basically collapse. He tries to pick me up and I take my hands away from him and say, 'I don't want you to touch me'. He says, 'Look, I don't want to be here any more than you do but I have to help you', at which point I say, 'Fine, but I don't want you, I want Masood'. He calls Masood but by the time Masood arrives, I can't move - I'm in full-on labour! Masood arrives with the cavalry which is Syed and Tamwar! There's another funny moment that Nitin and myself came up with which is that I'm lying on the floor, I'm looking a state, I'm looking round me and I say, 'It's not right with all these men here, Masood - get me Amira!' and he goes, 'But you look fine, darling!' I'm going 'No! Get me Amira!' We had a new director and she was going, 'Are you sure this is the right moment for comedy?' and we're going, 'Yes, it is!'"

What's the baby called?
"He's a baby boy called Kamil, though we're already calling him Camel! [His pet name is] Cambo."

Are you pleased that you've finally been able to remove the baby bump?
"My God, but I'm going to have to wear it for the live ep! Can you believe it? It's a massive one because it's the day before I give birth! It's just uncomfortable - it's sewn into a body suit which I haven't worn since I was a dancer in the '80s! It's also really hideous as you can imagine but you kind of go, 'All I need now is to go out there with just this on and a pair of leg warmers and I'll be the most unattractive woman in anyone's mind!'"

What's your reaction to the news that Preeya's leaving?
"To be honest I'm actually a little bit sad because we really get on and have fun together. She's a real character at work. Also I think Amira was really fitting into the family. She was just the right mix of princess but still loving and adoring and nice. It's a shame that we're losing her but I know she's off to do some massive singing career thing so I'm really happy for her, too."

[Dazzle]

It's bad news about Preeya leaving.

[Dutchgirl]

I'm so relieved that she is such a great actress kudos. The plays a convincing homophob.

[Perdita]

Hot off the heels of my recent interview with EastEnders actor Nitin Ganatra, here's a fresh chat with DS favourite Nina Wadia.

Tonight's Albert Square offering sees Masood finally discover the true extent of Zainab's deception - and throws her out of the house.

Read on for Nina's take on the ep...

How does Masood react to the news that Zainab's known since the wedding?
"For Zainab's character, the fear's not even so much that Masood knows that Syed's gay - it's the fear that Masood then finds out that Zainab already knew. When he tells her about what he's seen at the flat, she pretends it was a shock to her system again. She panics. If she'd been honest and brave and said she knew straight away, it might not have been so bad for her but the fact that she keeps it to herself…"

It's actually Jane who blurts out the truth isn't it?
"Yes, it sets the whole thing off and at that point she can't backtrack. Zainab tries, she actually goes to Jane and Ian for a bit of advice and Jane says to her, 'You've just got to be honest, just make it work'. So she goes back expecting that she'll be able to convince Masood otherwise. She temporarily does but he tells her she has to change and she can't help herself. There's an incident at the dining table with Tamwar who, in the middle of everything, announces that he doesn't want to go to university after all! That's the last thing she can take - she's at breaking point - and she can't help who she is.

"Then, Zainab says to Masood 'I don't care, you're going to go' and Masood says 'You're never going to change'. At that moment, he makes the decision to throw her out."

Tell us about the scene where Masood throws Zainab out…
"Oh man! I just hope viewers don't notice that when I'm inside the house I'm a size smaller than when I'm thrown out of the house! The reason for that is that I was wearing two sets of thermals and a wetsuit because I was so cold! It was one of the coldest days ever and we decided to do a rain scene in which I get thrown outside in a very thin sweater. The lovely wardrobe department know how cold I get, so they got me this amazing wetsuit to wear and thermals which is great but it had to go under a very thin layered outfit!

"I thought I was being really smart by going to the guys who do the rain machine effect and said 'Why don't we make it warm water?' but they said, 'Because it'll look like you're having a hot shower because of the condensation!'

"I ended up with a little bit of a bruise on my chest and neck because Masood physically throws me out and when we go for it we go for it! I desperately try and get back in the house and he won't let me. He holds my face and basically pushes me away. It was really quite horrible."

Was it weird filming that sort of scene with Nitin?
"It was. Nitin has a fire in his eyes and he's angry and it's quite scary. It's not good to bear the brunt of that but it's a testament to how good an actor he is. We really do vibe off each other and I feel incredibly blessed to work with him. Whatever the energy is between us that sparks us off it seems to translate onto screen. I hope they never break them up because I don't want to lose that."

Will Zainab and Masood survive this ordeal?
"I hope so. I think it would be a real tragedy for them if these two ever fall apart but this is soapland so who knows?"

Then Syed's the one to rush to Zainab's aid…
"That's more about what Syed's character is going through. He loves his mother and I think he's got to the point where now that it's all out and he's numbed by everything being out he just decides that the only way forward with Zainab is to tolerate her. I think he understands where it's coming from, that she is just this out-of-control, depressed woman who has no-one to turn to. Zainab can't change. It's that thing with siblings and parents. It's always the siblings who need to change their behaviour because the parents get set in their ways. The older you get the harder it is to change.

"I think that's what this is - he feels that the only way they're ever going to get their relationship to work is if he thinks, 'I know she loves me and she's doing this because she loves me so I'm just going to have to tolerate this woman'."

What can you tell us about what's to come for the Masoods…
"We don't know. We've had a change of exec and I went up to meet the lovely Bryan Kirkwood and I don't know! I think his personal thing is that he wants to take us back to our comedy roots. I hope he can manage it because it'll be very sad for Zainab to lose that about her. I love doing the drama, don't get me wrong, but you do take it home with you!"

Do you think that Zainab will ever discover that Amira was pregnant?
"Oh, that's and interesting one…."

Zainab won't go hunting her down will she?
"Of course she will - if she finds out!"