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Yusef Khan is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

Ace Bhatti Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti (born 13 September 1969) is a British actor who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has appeared in numerous television series, including ''Cardiac Arrest'', '' Holding On'', '' NCS: Manhunt'', '' ...

. Yusef is the father of

Afia Khan Afia Masood (also Khan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Meryl Fernandes. Afia appeared in five episodes between 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010, and returned on 18 November 2010. This is Fernandes' ...

(

Meryl Fernandes Meryl Glynis Fernandes (born 1983) is an English actress and presenter. She played Afia Masood, a love interest for Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', originally making a guest appearance between 29 December 2009 ...

) and former husband of

Zainab Masood Zainab Khan (also Masood) is a character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nina Wadia.

(

Nina Wadia Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy ''Still Open All Hours'', and for st ...

). He appears from 23 November 2010. Described as strong-willed, he arrives as

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

's new general practitioner. He departed on 26 December 2011, following the end of his domestic abuse storyline with his wife

Zainab Masood Zainab Khan (also Masood) is a character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nina Wadia.

(

) in which he served as the show's main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

. Bhatti was voted "Best Newcomer" at the

TV Quick ''TV Quick'' was a British weekly television listing magazine published by H Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group. It featured weekly television listings running from Saturday to Friday, and began pub ...

awards and for "Best Storyline" for destroying the Masoods.

Storylines

Yusef first appears when Afia introduces him to her boyfriend

Tamwar Masood Tamwar Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Himesh Patel. He made his first appearance on 1 October 2007. On 12 March 2016, it was announced that Patel would be leaving the show, with Tamwar making hi ...

(

Himesh Patel Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor, musician, and singer. He is known for portraying Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2016, for starring in the 2019 musical romantic comedy film '' Yes ...

). Tamwar feels he is not good enough for Afia in Yusef's eyes as he is from a poor background, but Yusef says that does not matter and approves of Tamwar. After Tamwar mentions his mother Zainab Masood's name, Yusef visits the Masood home and finds the door open. When Zainab sees him, she screams and orders him out. It is revealed they were husband and wife from an arranged marriage when Yusef was 17, and Yusef's family had poured oil on her and set her on fire. Yusef says it was his family, not him, and he attempted to save her, revealing bad scarring on his body. Tamwar's father Masood Ahmed, Tamwar and Afia return home, and Masood attacks Yusef, punching him twice. After Yusef returns, Tamwar asks Masood to speak to Yusef, and when he visits, he finds out Tamwar and Afia are still seeing each other. He gives his blessing for them to be married. Yusef becomes the local general practitioner for Walford and takes an interest in

Denise Fox Denise Fox (also Wicks and Johnson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Diane Parish. She made her first appearance on 11 May 2006 and temporarily left ''EastEnders'' in early 2008 to give birth to her ...

(

Diane Parish Diane Parish (born 1 November 1969) is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006 Born in Chelsea, London and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Pari ...

). He is later pickpocketed by

Janine Malloy Janine Carter (also Butcher, Evans and Malloy) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', introduced in 1989. The character was played by Rebecca Michael from 1989 to 1993, Alexia Demetriou from 1993 to 1996, and Charlie B ...

(

Charlie Brooks Charlene Emma Brooks (born 3 May 1981) is a British actress. Known for the role of Janine Butcher in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has received numerous awards since her first appearance on the soap in 1999, with storylines invo ...

). Denise tells Yusef that there have been rumours about him going round,

Dot Branning Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''In ...

) is responsible so he goes and talks to Dot; she ignores him. Zainab tells Yusef that Afia will be welcome to the family but he will not. Yusef reminisces about the past leading to Zainab telling Masood they must stop the wedding. Yusef starts a relationship with Denise. Yusef encourages Zainab and Masood's estranged son

Syed Masood Syed Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Marc Elliott, and first appeared on screen on 21 April 2009. Syed is a British Pakistani and is the eldest son of Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab Mas ...

(

Marc Elliott Marc Gilbert F Elliott (born 19 October 1979) is an English actor from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, who is known for his role as Syed Masood in the BBC television soap opera '' EastEnders''. Personal life Elliott was born on 19 October 1979 ...

) to take the first step in making amends as he is gay, and Syed goes to Tamwar and Afia's mangni (engagement party). The roof collapses and Syed is hospitalised and Yusef lies to Zainab that Syed could die so she visits him, but his injuries were not serious noticing that Yusef tricked her. Yusef makes out that he is sleeping with Zainab so Masood and

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...

(

Steve McFadden Steve Robert McFadden (né Reid; born 20 March 1959) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he has played since 1990. He was also the presenter of the game show, ''Britain's ...

) then kidnap Yusef in an attempt to scare him away. Masood threatens to pour petrol over Yusef, though it is only water and leaves him unharmed. When Masood returns home, Yusef has cuts on his face and blames it on Masood. Everyone believes Yusef, and Masood is rejected from his home. Yusef convinces Tamwar, Afia and Zainab that Masood should not be at the mehndi. At the wedding, Masood turns up to try to stop it but Tamwar reveals that he and Afia already married. Yusef's cousin

Tariq Tariq ( ar, طارق) is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ...

(Antony Bunsee) arrives and he reveals that Yusef started the fire that burnt Zainab. After hearing news that Syed is trying to find his wife

Amira Shah Amira Masood (also Shah) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Preeya Kalidas. The girlfriend, and later wife, of Syed Masood (Marc Elliott), Amira first appeared on screen in the episode broadcast on 7 May ...

(

Preeya Kalidas Preeya Kalidas (born 21 June 1980) is a British singer and actress. She played Amira Masood in the soap opera ''EastEnders'', from 2009 to 2012. She released the single "Shimmy" in July 2010, taken from her proposed debut album ''(I'm Over It) ...

), Yusef visits her father, Qadim (

Ramon Tikaram Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series ''This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders''. Earl ...

) at his office and offers to avenge his family for causing Amira pain. When Zainab and Yusef attend an event together, people assume they are married and Zainab does not correct them. Afterwards, Yusef admits to Zainab that he has great feelings for her but they should maintain some distance as she is married. Yusef continues to manipulate Zainab and ply her with pills, but she says she wishes to stop taking them, so Yusef crushes up a bottle of pills and conceals them in Zainab's food. Zainab passes out and is hospitalised, with her family believing she took a deliberate overdose, as was Yusef's plan. Concerned that he himself is causing Zainab's worries, Masood divorces Zainab by saying the

triple talaq Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some initiated by the husband and some initiated by the wife. The main traditional legal categories are ''talaq'' ( repudiation), ''khulʿ'' (mutual divorce or ransom divorce) Historically, the rules ...

. Yusef learns that Amira gave birth to Syed's daughter Yasmin, so persuades Zainab to take a holiday with him and Kamil in Pakistan. While there, he suggests that they move there permanently as a family. On their return to Walford, Yusef learns that Amira has been seeing Syed, so tells Amira that she is not wanted by the Masood family. Amira ignores him and Zainab meets Yasmin, and informs Yusef that she cannot leave Walford after becoming a grandmother. Yusef then puts doubt into the mind of Syed's boyfriend,

Christian Clarke Christian Clarke is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', portrayed by John Partridge. He first appeared in the show's 3,509th episode, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2008, and was introduced ...

( John Partridge), about Syed's paternity of Yasmin. Christian then asks Yusef to perform a secret

paternity test DNA paternity testing is the use of DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of another individual. Paternity testing can be especially important when the rights and duties of the father are in issue and a child ...

on Yasmin, however Yusef uses his own DNA for the test, creating a false result. However, his falsification is exposed, leaving the Masood family hostile towards him, and Zainab devastated. Later, Yusef tells Zainab that he told the lies to protect her. She is sceptical, but when Yusef revives

Amy Mitchell The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' which aired in 2008 (by order of first appearance). All characters were introduced by executive producer Diederick Santer. Santer introduced four ch ...

(Natalia and Kamil Lipka-Kozanka) who has almost drowned, Zainab is impressed with Yusef's caring attitude, but says it does not change things. Amira goes to Yusef for help, saying she needs him on her side, threatening to tell Zainab that Yusef bought her a plane ticket if he does not help her get Syed back. She convinces Zainab to talk to Yusef, and when Yusef sees 15-year-old Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe), who has recently come out as homosexual, running out of Christian's flat, he asks if Christian acted inappropriately. At first Ben says nothing happened but later Ben tells Yusef that Christian touched him, and they tell Ben's father, Phil. This turns out to be untrue, but leads to Christian leaving Syed and Walford. Yusef continues to manipulate Zainab, to the point of becoming violent with her. Yusef then tries to encourage Zainab to move to Pakistan, and recruits Amira to manipulate Syed with the same idea. As Zainab starts to disrespect his wishes, Yusef slaps her and apologises as he thought he was going to lose her. Yusef meets up with Tariq and offers him his daughter's restaurant. Upon discovering that the restaurant doesn't belong to Yusef, he reveals to Afia that Yusef started the fire involving Zainab. Afia then tells Yusef she knows he started the fire and threatens to tell Zainab if he does not do so first. Yusef admits to Zainab that he started the fire and kicks him out of the house, she later forgives Yusef however. Yusef and Zainab then marry. After Zainab and Jane argue in the street Zainab and Yusef return home. Zainab slaps Yusef after he says Kamil will be an outcast to him but Yusef slaps Zainab back. Yusef then hastily arranges a flight for himself, Zainab and Kamil to Pakistan, but Zainab purposefully discards her passport to prevent the trip. Yusef then kidnaps Kamil, telling Zainab that he is being kept in a safe place and refuses to let Zainab see him. After about four days of not knowing, Yusef takes Zainab to a café in the High Street, where a relative returns Kamil to Zainab. During the visit, it emerges that Yusef told Bushra's family that Zainab had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, which is why he needed to have Kamil looked after. When Yusef takes a call outside the café, Zainab tries to escape with Kamil through an emergency exit in the back of the shop. However, Yusef guessed her plan and was waiting for her outside the exit. As she tried to escape, Yusef warned her that he knows everything, and if she leaves him, he will kill Tamwar and Kamil. Masood races to the restaurant and secretly promises that he'll do whatever it takes to get her out of her marriage to Yusef. Zainab finally stands up to Yusef and refuses to leave for Pakistan. Yusef attacks her and after learning that Masood has Kamil, retaliates towards Yusef. Yusef drugs Zainab, and the family return to the house. Masood punches Yusef before calling the police. Afia confronts Yusef and orders him to leave. Yusef is later found by Masood at the bed and breakfast with a match and some petrol. Yusef attacks Masood and lights a fire leaving Masood for dead.

Shirley Carter Shirley Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Linda Henry. She first appeared on 7 December 2006, during episodes set in Dorset. This is Henry's second role in ''EastEnders'', as she previously played ...

(

Linda Henry Linda Varilis (''née'' Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama '' Bad Girls'' and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she has played since 2006. S ...

) and Christian put the fire out but the fire is later reignited trapping Masood, Phil and Denise inside. Yusef taunts Zainab outside. Zainab lies and tells him that Afia is in the building and he runs in followed by Tamwar. Masood is later rescued and as Yusef remains upstairs he realises that Afia is in fact outside. Realising Zainab tricked him, he briefly smiles, and the floor collapses beneath him and he succumbs to the flames. The following day, firefighters retrieve his body. He leaves everything to Zainab in his will.

Creation and development

Casting, introduction and departure

Bhatti was already known to ''EastEnders'' executive producer

Bryan Kirkwood Bryan Kirkwood (born 1976) is a British television producer. He was the producer of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 until 2009, and was the executive producer of the BBC soap ''EastEnders'' from 2010 until 2012. He returned as t ...

when he auditioned for the part, as Kirkwood and Bhatti worked on ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' at the same time. Bhatti was the only actor who auditioned for the part of Yusef. In fact, Wadia recommended Bhatti to Kirkwood to play Yusef, as she "thought that he definitely had the quality that Yusef would need—which is a very ambiguous but charming quality!" Bhatti explained to ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' that the ''EastEnders'' cast are very welcoming. He explained: "They're so welcoming. There's a lot of joking about. I'm having a great time at EastEnders - it's a real privilege to be here. I've known Nitin and Nina Wadia, who plays Zainab, for a very long time and we've always got on very well. Nitin and I play tense scenes together so it's nice that we can have a laugh afterwards." Yusef is introduced as part of a storyline involving the Masood family. Tamwar dates Afia and when Yusef is introduced to Tamwar's parents Masood and Zainab, Masood "explodes" with anger at the sight of him, recognising him as a man from their past. Ganatra explained that although Yusef allegedly tried to save Zainab from the fire, all Masood saw was Zainab locked in a burning kitchen: "we are only playing it from each person's point of view. Yusef is playing it from his point of view that he did try and save her. Masood is saying, 'All I know is that I went back to get her and she had been locked in this kitchen and it was on fire'." Patel said the storyline is a shocking one with a clever twist. In March 2011, Bhatti said he was staying with ''EastEnders'' until around June 2011, and would "see from there". He made his first appearance on 23 November 2010. Ganatra spoke at the British Soap Awards 2011 to ''

'' and praised the impact of Yusef saying,"He's very much an arch-villain - he's a great character who's there to put jeopardy into the Masoods' relationship. Zainab and Masood have been married for 28 years and they're mad about each other - for someone to come and destroy that slightly, it's exciting. It's exciting for us to play." Bhatti's departure was not announced. When a fire was reported to be happening around Christmas 2011, rumours emerged from an alleged ''EastEnders'' insider that "Yusef has long been tipped as a possible fatality". The insider added "This is the biggest fire ''EastEnders'' has ever seen and there will be casualties. It is such a huge disaster that it will affect most of the families on the show in one way or another. There is a great tradition at ''EastEnders'' of captivating Christmas Day storylines and this year is no different." Yusef's death aired on 26 December 2011 concluding his storyline.

Personality

On the ''EastEnders'' website, Yusef is described as calm, collected, strong-willed, mysterious, loyal to Afia and regretful of his past. Daniel Maier from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said that Yusef "is clearly a wrong 'un but it's hard to tell exactly what his game is. You suspect he's not sure himself. A Baddie Without Portfolio, most of his time seems taken up with malicious glances and general inveigling." Susan Hill from the '' Daily Star'' called Yusef "twisted", while Tony Stewart from the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' called him "smug, deceitful and dangerous". Wadia opined that Yusef is not evil but much more complex than that, and his personality would be explored during his storyline.

Storyline development

In an interview with ''Digital Spy'', Bhatti described his relationship with his daughter Afia, explaining that they have a "strong bond" and that Yusef would die for his daughter. He said that "it definitely hurts" when he finds out that Tamwar and Afia are already married as he is so close to Afia and she has betrayed him. In an interview with ''Inside Soap'', Bhatti admits that he is sympathetic for his character, Yusef. He said that Yusef is very insecure and that he can understand his behaviour in some ways. Meanwhile, discussing the fan reaction to his character, Bhatti admitted that women have told him that he's a "bad man". Bhatti also hinted that Yusef will become more firmly established as a Walford villain over the next few weeks, stating that Yusef does have more bad qualities than good and that fans call him "Dr. Evil". Yusef is wrongly accused of having an affair with Zainab, due to his sister-in-law overhearing them speaking. A source said that the whole day turns into a disaster. When Shameem sees Yusef and Zainab together she automatically thinks they're having an affair and everyone struggles to come to terms with what they have heard. Bhatti has admitted that he is surprised by his status as a

heartthrob Heartthrob or Heart Throb may refer to: * "Heart Throb" (''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!''), a live-action episode of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' * "Heartthrob" (''Angel''), an episode of the American television show ''Angel'' * '' ...

. Interviewed by Will Payne of the ''Sunday Mirror'', he said that it's a great compliment however, it was a complete surprise. Bhatti hinted that perhaps women love the character, but he prefer trainers and jeans to smart suits.

Kidnap

In April 2011, it was reported that Masood would kidnap Yusef, pour petrol on him and threaten to set him on fire. Yusef will then go to the Masood's house and tell Zainab what Masood has done. An ''EastEnders'' insider told the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'', "Masood has never got over that. Tension has been simmering for a while and leads to an outpouring of violence from Masood that leaves Yusef seriously injured. But Yusef will get his own back. It is a twisted love triangle that will also show the sometimes brutal side of arranged marriages. It's not clear if their marriage will survive Yusef's meddling. ..Yusef obviously wants ainabback and will do anything he can to drive a wedge between Masood and Zainab." Ganatra said that Yusef will turn "very manipulative and very nasty" and Masood finds him as a big threat saying, "He throws a real spanner in the works for Masood. ..He is doing everything he can to wreck Masood's life, really, and the way you do that is to get to his family. It's a very clever way of doing things—it's not about destroying his family, it's about winning his family and turning them against him, so that Masood is left isolated and on his own." Ganatra spoke of the storyline saying, "I think there's rumours of revenge! Yusef is a really nice catalyst - he's a very exciting character to throw into the mix. If it goes that way, it's more drama for us to play." The scenes were broadcast on 2 June 2011 with Phil Mitchell also taking revenge alongside Masood.

Domestic violence

In late 2011, Yusef manages to win his former wife back. They later make plans to get married. Nina Wadia explains why Zainab is willing to forgive Yusef. Wadia said to ''

Inside Soap ''Inside Soap'' is a weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas in the United Kingdom, including '' Coronation Street'', ''Doctors'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdal ...

'': "He tells Zainab that he was forced to start the fire by his family. Yusef goes on to explain that he knew it was wrong the minute he lit the match, and that he ran into the house to save her. And by the end of this conversation, she finds herself saying to him, 'Let's get married' - regardless! Obviously, it was something I struggled to get my head around. But being burnt in that fire is what they both have in common - and that experience connects them so deeply. She recognises that he made a mistake but also decides that the whole thing was probably her fault, because she walked out on their marriage." Wadia continued: "It doesn't look like Zainab's going to listen. But as Denise leaves, it's clear she's torn about what to do." A short time before their wedding day arrives, Yusef starts to abuse Zainab both physically and mentally. He forbids Zainab to leave the house and later starts using her son, Kamil, to control her. Wadia explains that she wants the storyline to have a positive impact against real-life violence. She told ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' :"I think the idea behind showing a strong woman like Zainab changing like this is to show that it can happen to even the strongest of women. They can change and they can be manipulated - especially if they're isolated from their friends and family. The manipulator can take advantage, so it's to prove that it can even happen to people like her. To be honest, if even one woman rings that Action Line at the end of the show and there's some difference made to her life, I'll feel like we've done our job," she continued. "It is a serious issue and I'm glad it's being highlighted. I hope that it wakes anyone up - not just women, I know that there are abused men out there as well. So if it gives anyone the strength to leave a relationship like that, we'll have done our job." The scenes where Yusef refused to let Zainab see Kamil pulled in 8.69m viewers at 7.30pm. BBC Three's repeat of the episode later secured 994k viewers at 10pm. Wadia admitted to feeling "emotionally drained" after her scenes with Ace Bhatti. She explained to ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'': "It's very draining. I'm putting myself into this very dark place which I know sadly is a reality for so many women. Zainab's confidence has been steadily eroded. She's feeling isolated and has fallen under Yusef's control. He wants revenge. She is totally in his power. I had to show this can happen to any woman, no matter how strong she seems. Zainab was strong and not naive, but a woman is vulnerable if the man hits the right psychological weak spots. But both Ace and I have found it hard to do. I've known Ace for a long time and we're good friends. He has been wonderful to work with on this and very concerned about me all the way through." Wadia has been given advice on the storyline from the Roshni refuge in Birmingham, which specializes in abuse within Asian families. Wadia warns that Yusef will ultimately get worse as time progresses. She said to ''

'': "I was filming out on location recently with Ace and a bunch of women came over to him and said, 'God, you're such a horrible man!' It's funny because Ace is such a sweet man - and you haven't even seen the worst of Yusef yet!" Wadia continued: "Let's just say that what happens is the complete opposite of what you want to see. Zainab and Yusef share a dark and twisted love, and she definitely has feelings for him. It's not true and pure like what she used to have with Masood - and if Yusef manages to get her back to Pakistan, it will be the end for her. I wouldn't be surprised if Zainab ends up in some sort of home to recover from everything that's going to happen." Nitin Ganatra who plays

Masood Ahmed Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nitin Ganatra. The character made his first appearance in episode 3452, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2007. Masood was introduced as p ...

explains to ''

'' Masood's reactions when he discovers that Yusef has taken Kamil away. "Masood goes crazy over this!" Nitin replies. "I've got kids myself, and I know I'd react the same way if I found out that some other guy had taken my child to somebody's house who the child doesn't even know. Masood is still the only person who can see Yusef for what he really is, so he goes into a blind panic over the situation. Masood calls in the police, and they make sure that Kamil is safe, but we're left to wonder if he will stay that way. The police say that they can't get involved in domestic disputes, so Masood says, 'Well, what about the father's rights? If a mother reported this, you'd see it as kidnap'. I thought that was a great line and really interesting - I think in that moment, Masood's representing a lot of fathers who have separated or divorced and don't have access to their children in the same way." Asked what Masood's reactions are over Zainab's abuse, Nitin says: "Masood tells Denise, 'It's just another one of Zainab's dramas', but then there comes a point where he sees bruises on Zainab. Then Masood becomes very concerned for Zainab in a very genuine way. It also might reignite something between the two of them as well, as they have to work together to solve these problems." The scenes showing Masood and Denise race to the café where Kamil was raised 8.26 million viewers. BBC Three's repeat screening later secured 781k viewers at 10pm.

Reception

In May 2011, Bhatti was nominated in the Best Newcomer category at the

Awards and the storyline where he tries to destroy the Masoods' marriage was nominated for Best Storyline. Bhatti was surprised to hear that Yusef is liked mainly by women, but in an interview with the ''

'', he admits that he is nothing like Yusef in real life. ''

'' branded Yusef as "Zainab's sinister first husband", elsewhere, '' Metro.co.uk'' described Yusef as a "deceptive doctor". Jane Simon of the ''

'' said that Zainab sending Yusef into the blazing building was a "stroke of genius". Simon also said that it's unknown what Yusef is hoping to achieve with his "one-man reign of terror. Being married to a woman he can’t stand, with a son he doesn’t want." She added: "It doesn’t sound like much of a game-plan."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Yusef EastEnders characters Television characters introduced in 2010 Fictional physicians Fictional Pakistani diaspora Fictional Muslims Fictional domestic abusers Male villains Fictional criminals in soap operas Male characters in television