Amira Shah
Encyclopedia
Amira 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
), she first appeared on screen in the episode broadcast on 7 May 2009. She returned on 10 October 2011.
The character was described as high maintenance, lonely and insecure. Amira and Syed's wedding on 1 January 2010 was watched by an average of 11.64 million viewers. Although credited with the name Amira Masood on the BBC website after the wedding episode, actor Nitin Ganatra
(on-screen father-in-law Masood Ahmed
) has stated that according to naming convensions in Pakistani culture
, her name should be Amira Syed.
Kalidas quit the show in January 2010 to concentrate on a career in music, filming her final scenes in March 2010. Her final episode was broadcast on 26 April 2010, after Amira discovered that her husband was gay and had been having an affair with Christian Clarke
(John Partridge
). She returned on EastEnders on 10 October 2011, but appeared in two extra scenes available on BBC Online and BBC Red Button called Amira's Secret, on 6 and 8 September 2011.
(Marc Elliott
), the son of established characters Masood Ahmed
(Nitin Ganatra
) and Zainab Masood
(Nina Wadia
). She arrives when Zainab invites her for dinner. Syed's brother Tamwar
(Himesh Patel
) reveals to Amira that Syed is not as successful as she believes. She insults the family and Masood asks her to leave, and her relationship with Syed ends. She returns a month later to meet Syed in the park, and they talk until he becomes suspicious of her. The next day she arrives unexpectedly, claiming her father Qadim (Ramon Tikaram
) has disappeared and she is homeless. Syed attempts to hide her upstairs but her presence is soon known throughout the family. She then rents a room in a nearby flat. Still trying to get into Zainab's good books, Amira takes over at Bushra Abbasi's (Pooja Ghai) event and sings beautifully to the guests. She begins to get to know Albert Square
and its residents, and gets a job at Tanya Branning
's (Jo Joyner
) beauty salon.
Syed proposes to Amira and she readily accepts. However, she soon confesses to Zainab that her father is in Pentonville Prison for fraud. Zainab is initially angry, but says that if she keeps Syed happy, the wedding will go ahead. Amira then starts planning for the wedding, and enlists a reluctant Christian Clarke
(John Partridge
) to help her. She tells Masood that he should not pay for her wedding to Syed and she is going to visit Qadim. When she does, he reacts badly to the news that she is engaged to Syed and refuses to give them his blessing. She gives him the option of either accepting him as her fiancé or that he will not be contacted again. She later takes money from his safety deposit box for the wedding without his knowledge, saying he has no need for it. She worries about her wedding when Christian goes to Spain and when she finds out her father's legal team has found a loophole in order to free him. During the Mehndi celebration, Amira is shocked to see that her father has walked in. The next day, she is forced to tell Zainab and Masood that Qadim did not give his blessing and she stole the money. Qadim arrives and Syed reveals they took the money but Amira interrupts and says it was her idea. Qadim orders her to pack her bags but she defies him. Qadim says he will expect the money in cash the next day and leaves, after which, Amira says the Masoods are her family now. Qadim comes back the next day and agrees to give his blessing and pay for the wedding after realising how much Masood has done for Amira. She marries Syed, not knowing that he has come out to his mother as gay and is in love with Christian.
After their honeymoon, Amira applies for work at The Queen Victoria
public house and meets Danny Mitchell
(Liam Bergin
), who compliments her, but she realises she is not cut out for that work. She decides to go back to work at Masala Queen, the family's curry business, and when she is alone with Syed, she dresses up sexily in an attempt to seduce him, as they have still not consummated the marriage. Syed tells her to get dressed as anybody could see her, so she leaves. Danny finds her in the Square and they kiss. The next day she regrets it and tells Danny it was a stupid mistake. Amira sleeps on the sofa and tells Zainab it is because Syed kicks her in his sleep. She tells Chelsea Fox
(Tiana Benjamin
) she kissed another man and says she is still a virgin and assumes Syed is too, and Chelsea encourages her to tell Syed about the kiss. Amira and Syed talk and she thinks he does not find her attractive, and tells him that she kissed Danny. Syed says it is not that but he is nervous about sleeping with her. After Syed confronts Danny, Syed and Amira sleep together and talk about starting a family. After the birth of Syed's brother Kamil, Syed again talks about starting a family, but is shocked to discover Amira taking birth control tablets. She says a baby was Zainab's idea and she is not ready for the responsibility of motherhood, but Syed tells her he cannot trust her. They later both agree to wait to try for a baby, but after spending time with Kamil, Amira tells Syed she is feeling broody and throws away her tablets.
Amira starts working back at the salon, this time for Roxy Mitchell
(Rita Simons), who has taken over. She receives a cheque for £5000 from her father and decides to use it to put a deposit on a flat to rent with Syed. Amira's increasing frustration with her husband's distance from her leads her to confide in Christian and ask for advice. Christian's advice works and Syed and Amira make love, which the next day Amira tells Christian was "perfect". Shortly after this Amira believes she could be pregnant so announces to the family that she is. Chelsea tells her to take a pregnancy test, but it is negative. Amira eventually admits to Syed that she is not pregnant, and as they decide to try for a baby again, Amira sees the words "Syed loves Christian" painted on a wall in their bedroom unaware it was painted by Lucy Beale
(Melissa Suffield
) She refuses to believe it, even after Syed and Christian tell her Syed is gay, and runs to the Masoods' house. Syed follows, and Zainab and Masood calm the situation until Christian arrives. Amira is unable to control her emotions and breaks down. Qadim demands to know why Amira is scared of Christian, so Syed reveals that he's a gay man in a sham marriage
. As a heartbroken Amira packs her bags, Chelsea tells her that she got the pregnancy tests mixed up. Amira asks her to keep the pregnancy a secret, and as she drives out of Walford with her father, she clutches her stomach and smiles. Three days later, Qadim returns to Walford, looking for Syed, and reveals that Amira is unable to eat or drink due to the recent revelation.
(Ace Bhatti
) phones Amira and agrees to meet her in a park, although he is stunned when she turns up with her baby daughter, Yasmin, telling Yusef that Syed is the father. Shortly after, Amira arrives in Walford, wanting to speak to Syed and she is devastated when she walks in on Syed and Christian announcing their engagement. When Syed sees her, she storms out, although she later confesses that he is a father, showing him a picture of Yasmin. When Christian approaches her, she sprays perfume in his eyes.
Amira tells Syed that she will allow him to see Yasmin in the flesh, but Christian cannot come anywhere near her. Shortly after, she returns to Walford with Yasmin and introduces her to Masood, Tamwar and Tamwar's wife, Afia (Meryl Fernandes
). When Syed and Christian come round to see her, she tells Syed that he must choose between Christian and Yasmin and a furious Syed tells her she will be hearing from their solicitor. As Amira is leaving, Syed runs out and meets his daughter for the first time. He agrees to secretly meet with Amira in a park so that he can spend more time with Yasmin, although he does not tell Christian. Both Syed and Amira are pleased when father and daughter bond and Amira tries to manipulate Syed into spending more time with them. When Yusef learns that Amira has been seeing Syed, he tells her that she is not wanted by the Masood family. Amira ignores him, and attends a family dinner where Zainab sees Yasmin for the first time. Amira and Zainab then both try to manipulate Syed into spending more time with his daughter, including organising a family party for Yasmin's birthday. Yusef phones Qadim and tells him that Amira has been seeing the Masoods, he storms round to the party and demands that Amira and Yasmin return with him. Amira refuses, and Qadim leaves stating that Amira is no longer his daughter. Christian then reveals that he had a paternity test performed, which proves that Syed is not the father of Yasmin. Syed is devastated, but Amira continues to claim that he is the father. However, it emerges that Yusef falsified the results of the paternity test. Amira and Yasmin then stay with Syed and Christian, having nowhere else to go. Christian eventually accepts them staying and although Amira says Christian can be a full part of Yasmin's life, she asks Yusef for help to get Syed back, and in return helps to get Zainab back on side with Yusef. Yusef orchistrates Christian being falsely accused of touching 15-year-old Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe). Syed doubts Christian again, leading to Christian breaking up with Syed and leaving Walford. Though Amira is concerned by Yusef's scheming tactics, she is pleased that Christian has left. However, Yusef suggests that Christian may return at any time, and that Amira's best hope of keeping Syed would be to move to Pakistan with him. Amira then invents a phoney business opportunity in Pakistan to lure Syed there.
." Elliot revealed that "she's a rich daddy's girl and it's hard not to make the association between Syed and money. There's certainly an honest attraction there and I think he does love her. But the money that her father has might be an additional aspect of their relationship. Amira comes in and ruffles a few feathers, especially [Syed's mother] Zainab
's. Obviously with Syed being a mummy's boy, she has to have her say. I don't think Zainab would be happy with anyone that Syed's with — they'd have to be absolutely perfect. Mummy Masood will be doing a lot of meddling and locking horns with Amira." She has also been described as "very high maintenance", "spoilt and snobbish" and "a lonely and insecure girl". She makes her first on-screen appearance on 7 May 2009.
Syed and Amira go on to marry on 1 January 2010. They have a traditional Pakistani wedding featuring horses, drummers and dancers. Scriptwriters researched by watching videos of a real British Pakistani wedding. The wedding and its build-up were filmed over a two-week period, and Kalidas was in full costume for one of them, including make-up and mehndi
designs on her hands, which took two and a half hours to apply each day. BBC Asian Network
reporter Shabnam Mahmood, who advised on the wedding, revealed "the mehndi was done by Pavan – the fastest mehndi artist in the world." Amira's dress and scarf were handmade and the costume was bought in an Asian boutique in East London and sent to India for a fitting. Kalidas described it as "really heavy" due to its beading detail. She said: "Although I really loved the outfit, after day five I couldn't wait to take it off."
On 24 January 2010, it was announced that Kalidas had quit the show to concentrate on a career in music. According to Kalidas, her final scenes were filmed on 5 March and were shown on 26 April 2010. Kalidas teased about her exit the day it was transmitted. She told BBC News: "We were quite looking forward to this moment and we're both really excited about playing these scenes tonight. It was really emotional and really quite traumatic and really hard for us when we were doing it."
It was reported on 11 July 2011 that Kalidas would reprise her role as Amira from "autumn" 2011. A source for the show said, "Amira left Walford a heartbroken woman. When she finds out Syed is planning to marry Christian she is furious. Amira is manipulative and her presence looks set to turn the lives of the Masoods upside down. The question is, has she moved on from her husband or will she do whatever she can to get him back? Only time will tell."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Preeya Kalidas
Preeya Kalidas
Preeya Kalidas is a British singer and actress of Indian descent. She plays Amira Masood in the soap opera EastEnders. She returned to a career in singing, with her single "Shimmy" being released in July 2010 taken from her debut album Constant Craving, was supposed to be released in September...
. The girlfriend, and later wife, of Syed Masood
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 the eldest son of Masood Ahmed and Zainab Masood , and brother of Tamwar and Shabnam and Kamil Masood...
(Marc Elliott
Marc Elliott
Marc Elliott is a British actor from Stratford-upon-Avon, who is best known for his role as Syed Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Personal life:...
), she first appeared on screen in the episode broadcast on 7 May 2009. She returned on 10 October 2011.
The character was described as high maintenance, lonely and insecure. Amira and Syed's wedding on 1 January 2010 was watched by an average of 11.64 million viewers. Although credited with the name Amira Masood on the BBC website after the wedding episode, actor Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra is a Kenyan born British actor. He is known internationally as Prince Pondicherry in the Tim Burton film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also appears in the Gurinder Chada film Bride and Prejudice as Kholi Saab and The Mistress of Spices as Haroun...
(on-screen father-in-law Masood Ahmed
Masood Ahmed
Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nitin Ganatra.- Storylines :Masood moves to 41 Albert Square with Zainab, Shabnam and Tamwar in October 2007. Masood and Zainab are both active in the postal industry: Masood is a postman and Zainab the owner of a...
) has stated that according to naming convensions in Pakistani culture
Pakistani name
In Pakistan, as in other Muslim countries, the use of family names is not as prominent as in Western countries. The majority of Pakistani names are derived from Arabic, Turkish, Pashto, Persian and Urdu origin. As most Pakistanis are Muslims, all of them use either Urdu, Arabic, Afghan, Persian or...
, her name should be Amira Syed.
Kalidas quit the show in January 2010 to concentrate on a career in music, filming her final scenes in March 2010. Her final episode was broadcast on 26 April 2010, after Amira discovered that her husband was gay and had been having an affair with Christian Clarke
Christian Clarke
Christian Clarke is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Partridge. He made his first appearance on 17 January 2008.-Storylines:...
(John Partridge
John Partridge (performer)
John Partridge is an English actor, singer, dancer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008...
). She returned on EastEnders on 10 October 2011, but appeared in two extra scenes available on BBC Online and BBC Red Button called Amira's Secret, on 6 and 8 September 2011.
Backstory
Amira's backstory was revealed in an interview with Kalidas: "Amira doesn't have a mother, as she died when she was really young. She lives with her father, who's a big businessman — she met Syed through him. Her dad works in property, so Amira comes from wealth. One day her father just disappears, so she has no one else and her house is repossessed. She only has her clothes."2009–10
Amira is the girlfriend of Syed MasoodSyed 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 the eldest son of Masood Ahmed and Zainab Masood , and brother of Tamwar and Shabnam and Kamil Masood...
(Marc Elliott
Marc Elliott
Marc Elliott is a British actor from Stratford-upon-Avon, who is best known for his role as Syed Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Personal life:...
), the son of established characters Masood Ahmed
Masood Ahmed
Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nitin Ganatra.- Storylines :Masood moves to 41 Albert Square with Zainab, Shabnam and Tamwar in October 2007. Masood and Zainab are both active in the postal industry: Masood is a postman and Zainab the owner of a...
(Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra
Nitin Ganatra is a Kenyan born British actor. He is known internationally as Prince Pondicherry in the Tim Burton film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also appears in the Gurinder Chada film Bride and Prejudice as Kholi Saab and The Mistress of Spices as Haroun...
) and Zainab Masood
Zainab Masood
Zainab Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by comedienne Nina Wadia. She made her first appearance on 16 July 2007.-Backstory:...
(Nina Wadia
Nina Wadia
-Television and film:Wadia first came to prominence in BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, playing characters such as Mrs "I can make it at home for nothing!" and one half of The Competitive Mothers...
). She arrives when Zainab invites her for dinner. Syed's brother Tamwar
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.- Storylines :...
(Himesh Patel
Himesh Patel
Himesh Jitendra Patel is a British actor who began his career in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, playing Tamwar Masood. His first appearance on the programme was on 1 October 2007. Patel is also a member of the National Youth Theatre. He also appears in the 2010 spin-off series EastEnders: E20.-...
) reveals to Amira that Syed is not as successful as she believes. She insults the family and Masood asks her to leave, and her relationship with Syed ends. She returns a month later to meet Syed in the park, and they talk until he becomes suspicious of her. The next day she arrives unexpectedly, claiming her father Qadim (Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Pramod Junior Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Malaysian descent.-Early and personal life:...
) has disappeared and she is homeless. Syed attempts to hide her upstairs but her presence is soon known throughout the family. She then rents a room in a nearby flat. Still trying to get into Zainab's good books, Amira takes over at Bushra Abbasi's (Pooja Ghai) event and sings beautifully to the guests. She begins to get to know Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
and its residents, and gets a job at Tanya Branning
Tanya Branning
Tanya Lauren Jessop is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jo Joyner. She made her first appearance on 27 June 2006. She left the show temporarily on 25 December 2009 for maternity leave and returned for one episode on 23 June 2010. She made her full-time return on...
's (Jo Joyner
Jo Joyner
Joanne Mary Joyner is an English actress who is best known for her role as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, in which she has appeared since June 2006.-Career:...
) beauty salon.
Syed proposes to Amira and she readily accepts. However, she soon confesses to Zainab that her father is in Pentonville Prison for fraud. Zainab is initially angry, but says that if she keeps Syed happy, the wedding will go ahead. Amira then starts planning for the wedding, and enlists a reluctant Christian Clarke
Christian Clarke
Christian Clarke is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Partridge. He made his first appearance on 17 January 2008.-Storylines:...
(John Partridge
John Partridge (performer)
John Partridge is an English actor, singer, dancer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008...
) to help her. She tells Masood that he should not pay for her wedding to Syed and she is going to visit Qadim. When she does, he reacts badly to the news that she is engaged to Syed and refuses to give them his blessing. She gives him the option of either accepting him as her fiancé or that he will not be contacted again. She later takes money from his safety deposit box for the wedding without his knowledge, saying he has no need for it. She worries about her wedding when Christian goes to Spain and when she finds out her father's legal team has found a loophole in order to free him. During the Mehndi celebration, Amira is shocked to see that her father has walked in. The next day, she is forced to tell Zainab and Masood that Qadim did not give his blessing and she stole the money. Qadim arrives and Syed reveals they took the money but Amira interrupts and says it was her idea. Qadim orders her to pack her bags but she defies him. Qadim says he will expect the money in cash the next day and leaves, after which, Amira says the Masoods are her family now. Qadim comes back the next day and agrees to give his blessing and pay for the wedding after realising how much Masood has done for Amira. She marries Syed, not knowing that he has come out to his mother as gay and is in love with Christian.
After their honeymoon, Amira applies for work at The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
public house and meets Danny Mitchell
Danny Mitchell (EastEnders)
Daniel Nicholas "Danny" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by soap newcomer Liam Bergin, who appeared from on 21 January 2010 to 18 June 2010.-Storylines:...
(Liam Bergin
Liam Bergin
Liam Bergin is a British actor of Irish descent. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2008. He is currently best known for playing Rupert in Trinity...
), who compliments her, but she realises she is not cut out for that work. She decides to go back to work at Masala Queen, the family's curry business, and when she is alone with Syed, she dresses up sexily in an attempt to seduce him, as they have still not consummated the marriage. Syed tells her to get dressed as anybody could see her, so she leaves. Danny finds her in the Square and they kiss. The next day she regrets it and tells Danny it was a stupid mistake. Amira sleeps on the sofa and tells Zainab it is because Syed kicks her in his sleep. She tells Chelsea Fox
Chelsea Fox
Chelsea Fox is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tiana Benjamin. She first appeared on 5 May 2006 and was joined by her mother Denise and her half sister Libby. Benjamin announced her departure from the show in April 2010...
(Tiana Benjamin
Tiana Benjamin
Tiana Opium Benjamin is a British actress best known for playing Chelsea Fox in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders.Benjamin trained at The Anna Scher Theatre School in London....
) she kissed another man and says she is still a virgin and assumes Syed is too, and Chelsea encourages her to tell Syed about the kiss. Amira and Syed talk and she thinks he does not find her attractive, and tells him that she kissed Danny. Syed says it is not that but he is nervous about sleeping with her. After Syed confronts Danny, Syed and Amira sleep together and talk about starting a family. After the birth of Syed's brother Kamil, Syed again talks about starting a family, but is shocked to discover Amira taking birth control tablets. She says a baby was Zainab's idea and she is not ready for the responsibility of motherhood, but Syed tells her he cannot trust her. They later both agree to wait to try for a baby, but after spending time with Kamil, Amira tells Syed she is feeling broody and throws away her tablets.
Amira starts working back at the salon, this time for Roxy Mitchell
Roxy Mitchell
Roxanne Lizette "Roxy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Rita Simons. Roxy arrived in Walford with her sister Ronnie on 24 July 2007 and decided to move permanently to Walford from Ibiza where they ran a bar together. Roxy is the younger of the two...
(Rita Simons), who has taken over. She receives a cheque for £5000 from her father and decides to use it to put a deposit on a flat to rent with Syed. Amira's increasing frustration with her husband's distance from her leads her to confide in Christian and ask for advice. Christian's advice works and Syed and Amira make love, which the next day Amira tells Christian was "perfect". Shortly after this Amira believes she could be pregnant so announces to the family that she is. Chelsea tells her to take a pregnancy test, but it is negative. Amira eventually admits to Syed that she is not pregnant, and as they decide to try for a baby again, Amira sees the words "Syed loves Christian" painted on a wall in their bedroom unaware it was painted by Lucy Beale
Lucy Beale
Lucy Katherine Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Eva Brittin-Snell from 1993 to 1996, Casey Anne Rothery from 1996 until 2004, Melissa Suffield from 2004 to 2010 and Hetti Bywater from 2012 onwards. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the newborn baby...
(Melissa Suffield
Melissa Suffield
Melissa Hollie Suffield is a British actress from London, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lucy Beale. Her first appearance on the show was 28 October 2004 and her last on 27 August 2010.-Career:...
) She refuses to believe it, even after Syed and Christian tell her Syed is gay, and runs to the Masoods' house. Syed follows, and Zainab and Masood calm the situation until Christian arrives. Amira is unable to control her emotions and breaks down. Qadim demands to know why Amira is scared of Christian, so Syed reveals that he's a gay man in a sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
. As a heartbroken Amira packs her bags, Chelsea tells her that she got the pregnancy tests mixed up. Amira asks her to keep the pregnancy a secret, and as she drives out of Walford with her father, she clutches her stomach and smiles. Three days later, Qadim returns to Walford, looking for Syed, and reveals that Amira is unable to eat or drink due to the recent revelation.
2011—
In 2011, Syed and Christian decide to try to find Amira so Syed can divorce. Amira is seen at home where her father says someone visited him with a message from Syed, which shocks Amira. She tries to call Syed behind her father's back, but he snatches the phone and drops onto the road. Amira then secretly calls an unknown source, giving Syed's address and surname. Amira confesses to Qadim that she phoned Zainab because she believes Syed wants to reconcile, and is devastated to learn Syed only wants a divorce so he can marry Christian. It is revealed that Amira has a daughter. Syed discovers that Zainab had Amira's contact details and phoned her, however when her father answers, he informes Syed that Amira had left two weeks ago without a forwarding address. Several weeks later, Amira leaves several messages for Zainab, although determined for Syed not to find Amira, Zainab ignores them. Later, Yusef KhanYusef Khan
Doctor Yusef Khan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ace Bhatti. Yusef is the father of Afia Khan and former husband of Zainab Masood . He appears from 23 November 2010. Described as strong-willed, he arrives as Walford's new general practitioner....
(Ace Bhatti
Ace Bhatti
Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti is a British actor who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has starred in numerous television series, including New Street Law, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee, The Sarah Jane Adventures as Haresh Chandra and in EastEnders playing Yusef...
) phones Amira and agrees to meet her in a park, although he is stunned when she turns up with her baby daughter, Yasmin, telling Yusef that Syed is the father. Shortly after, Amira arrives in Walford, wanting to speak to Syed and she is devastated when she walks in on Syed and Christian announcing their engagement. When Syed sees her, she storms out, although she later confesses that he is a father, showing him a picture of Yasmin. When Christian approaches her, she sprays perfume in his eyes.
Amira tells Syed that she will allow him to see Yasmin in the flesh, but Christian cannot come anywhere near her. Shortly after, she returns to Walford with Yasmin and introduces her to Masood, Tamwar and Tamwar's wife, Afia (Meryl Fernandes
Meryl Fernandes
Meryl Glynis Fernandes is an English actress. Her best known role is playing Afia Khan, a love interest for Tamwar Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, originally making a guest appearance between the 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010...
). When Syed and Christian come round to see her, she tells Syed that he must choose between Christian and Yasmin and a furious Syed tells her she will be hearing from their solicitor. As Amira is leaving, Syed runs out and meets his daughter for the first time. He agrees to secretly meet with Amira in a park so that he can spend more time with Yasmin, although he does not tell Christian. Both Syed and Amira are pleased when father and daughter bond and Amira tries to manipulate Syed into spending more time with them. When Yusef learns that Amira has been seeing Syed, he tells her that she is not wanted by the Masood family. Amira ignores him, and attends a family dinner where Zainab sees Yasmin for the first time. Amira and Zainab then both try to manipulate Syed into spending more time with his daughter, including organising a family party for Yasmin's birthday. Yusef phones Qadim and tells him that Amira has been seeing the Masoods, he storms round to the party and demands that Amira and Yasmin return with him. Amira refuses, and Qadim leaves stating that Amira is no longer his daughter. Christian then reveals that he had a paternity test performed, which proves that Syed is not the father of Yasmin. Syed is devastated, but Amira continues to claim that he is the father. However, it emerges that Yusef falsified the results of the paternity test. Amira and Yasmin then stay with Syed and Christian, having nowhere else to go. Christian eventually accepts them staying and although Amira says Christian can be a full part of Yasmin's life, she asks Yusef for help to get Syed back, and in return helps to get Zainab back on side with Yusef. Yusef orchistrates Christian being falsely accused of touching 15-year-old Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe). Syed doubts Christian again, leading to Christian breaking up with Syed and leaving Walford. Though Amira is concerned by Yusef's scheming tactics, she is pleased that Christian has left. However, Yusef suggests that Christian may return at any time, and that Amira's best hope of keeping Syed would be to move to Pakistan with him. Amira then invents a phoney business opportunity in Pakistan to lure Syed there.
Creation and development
Amira is introduced as the girlfriend of character Syed Masood, played by Marc Elliott. The character was described by actress Preeya Kalidas as "a bit of a socialite [who] kind of kicks up a bit of fuss in Albert SquareAlbert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
." Elliot revealed that "she's a rich daddy's girl and it's hard not to make the association between Syed and money. There's certainly an honest attraction there and I think he does love her. But the money that her father has might be an additional aspect of their relationship. Amira comes in and ruffles a few feathers, especially [Syed's mother] Zainab
Zainab Masood
Zainab Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by comedienne Nina Wadia. She made her first appearance on 16 July 2007.-Backstory:...
's. Obviously with Syed being a mummy's boy, she has to have her say. I don't think Zainab would be happy with anyone that Syed's with — they'd have to be absolutely perfect. Mummy Masood will be doing a lot of meddling and locking horns with Amira." She has also been described as "very high maintenance", "spoilt and snobbish" and "a lonely and insecure girl". She makes her first on-screen appearance on 7 May 2009.
Syed and Amira go on to marry on 1 January 2010. They have a traditional Pakistani wedding featuring horses, drummers and dancers. Scriptwriters researched by watching videos of a real British Pakistani wedding. The wedding and its build-up were filmed over a two-week period, and Kalidas was in full costume for one of them, including make-up and mehndi
Mehndi
Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books...
designs on her hands, which took two and a half hours to apply each day. BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
reporter Shabnam Mahmood, who advised on the wedding, revealed "the mehndi was done by Pavan – the fastest mehndi artist in the world." Amira's dress and scarf were handmade and the costume was bought in an Asian boutique in East London and sent to India for a fitting. Kalidas described it as "really heavy" due to its beading detail. She said: "Although I really loved the outfit, after day five I couldn't wait to take it off."
On 24 January 2010, it was announced that Kalidas had quit the show to concentrate on a career in music. According to Kalidas, her final scenes were filmed on 5 March and were shown on 26 April 2010. Kalidas teased about her exit the day it was transmitted. She told BBC News: "We were quite looking forward to this moment and we're both really excited about playing these scenes tonight. It was really emotional and really quite traumatic and really hard for us when we were doing it."
It was reported on 11 July 2011 that Kalidas would reprise her role as Amira from "autumn" 2011. A source for the show said, "Amira left Walford a heartbroken woman. When she finds out Syed is planning to marry Christian she is furious. Amira is manipulative and her presence looks set to turn the lives of the Masoods upside down. The question is, has she moved on from her husband or will she do whatever she can to get him back? Only time will tell."