Yusef Khan
Encyclopedia
Doctor Yusef Khan is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Ace Bhatti
. Yusef is the father of Afia Khan (Meryl Fernandes
) and former husband of Zainab Masood
(Nina Wadia
). He appears from 23 November 2010. Described as strong-willed, he arrives as Walford
's new general practitioner
. Bhatti has praised the cast for being so welcoming to him. Speaking to Inside Soap
, he explained that he is "thrilled" to be a part of the regular EastEnders
cast. On 25 October 2011, it was announced in The Sun that Yusef would leave as part of the fire storyline at Christmas.
Yusef is Zainab's former husband. He started the fire that Zainab was trapped in. Yusef returns to the square and immediately makes a strong enemy in Masood Ahmed
(Nitin Ganatra
) and continues to enrage him, leading Masood to kidnapping Yusef. Yusef gets his payback by covering himself in petrol and blaming it on Masood. He constantly tries to make amends with Zainab, his former wife, and is mistakenly accused of having an affair with her; Zainab's entire family abandons her when they find out Yusef stayed the night with Zainab, immediately seeing the wrong side of it.
(Nina Wadia
) at the age of 17. Zainab brought shame upon her family after she had an affair with Masood Ahmed
(Nitin Ganatra
) while still married. As punishment, Yusef set Zainab on fire, though he claimed it to be his family's doing and he tried to save Zainab. Masood rescued her and Zainab divorced Yusef to marry Masood. Yusef later remarried and had a daughter, Afia (Meryl Fernandes
).
(Himesh Patel
). 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 his parent's 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
(Diane Parish
). He is later pickpocketed by Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks
). Denise tells Yusef that there have been rumours about him going round, Dot Branning
(June Brown
) 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
(Marc Elliott
) 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 offers a loan for the damaged roof, which Masood refuses, but Zainab later accepts. This causes arguments between Masood and Zainab. Yusef makes out that he is sleeping with Zainab so Masood and Phil Mitchell
(Steve McFadden
) 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 (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
(Preeya Kalidas
), Yusef visits her father, Qadim (Ramon Tikaram
) at his office and offers to avenge Syed's 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 is causing Zainab's worries, Masood divorces Zainab by saying the triple talaq. 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
(John Partridge), about Syed's paternity of Yasmin. Christian then asks Yusef to perform a secret paternity test 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 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 he needs her on his 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 lies to Zainab that Phil is still looking for Christian and Syed and it is not safe, so he moves in. 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.
when he auditioned for the part, as Kirkwood and Bhatti worked on Coronation Street
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!"
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". Wadia opined that Yusef is not evil but much more complex than that, and his personality would be explored during his storyline. Bhatti told Inside Soap
that Yusef has "more bad qualities than good" but is insecure because when Zainab left him, it brought shame on his family.
to Digital Spy
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."
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 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
, "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 [Zainab] back 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 are to air on 2 June 2011 with Phil Mitchell also taking revenge alongside Masood. In an interview with Inside Soap, Khan admits that he is sympathetic for his character, Yusef. The actor said: "He's very insecure. Zainab left him when he was 17 and it brought shame on him and his family. I can understand his behaviour in some ways."Meanwhile, discussing the fan reaction to his character, he admitted: "A couple of women have come up and told me that I'm a bad man." Bhatti also hinted that Yusef will become more firmly established as a Walford villain over the next few weeks. "Well, Yusef does have more bad qualities than good. Fans call me Dr Evil."
Yusef is wrongly accused of having an affair with Zainab, due to his sister-in-law overhearing them speaking. "The whole day turns into a disaster. When Shameem sees Yusef and Zainab together she automatically thinks they're having an affair," a source said. "Everyone struggles to come to terms with what they have just heard." Bhatti has admitted that he is surprised by his status as a heartthrob. Interviewed by Will Payne of the Sunday Mirror, he commented, "It's a great compliment, but a complete surprise. Maybe women love the character, but if they get to know me they find I'm not smooth, I'm not sophisticated and I don't drive flash cars. I prefer trainers and jeans to smart suits."
awards and for 'Best Storyline' for destroying the Masoods. Bhatti was surprised to hear that Yusef is liked mainly by women, but in an interview with the Daily Mirror, he admits that he is nothing like Yusef in real life.
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 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...
. Yusef is the father of Afia Khan (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...
) and former husband of 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...
). He appears from 23 November 2010. Described as strong-willed, he arrives as Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
's new general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
. Bhatti has praised the cast for being so welcoming to him. Speaking to Inside Soap
Inside Soap
Inside Soap is a weekly UK magazine, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas shown in the United Kingdom....
, he explained that he is "thrilled" to be a part of the regular 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...
cast. On 25 October 2011, it was announced in The Sun that Yusef would leave as part of the fire storyline at Christmas.
Yusef is Zainab's former husband. He started the fire that Zainab was trapped in. Yusef returns to the square and immediately makes a strong enemy in 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 continues to enrage him, leading Masood to kidnapping Yusef. Yusef gets his payback by covering himself in petrol and blaming it on Masood. He constantly tries to make amends with Zainab, his former wife, and is mistakenly accused of having an affair with her; Zainab's entire family abandons her when they find out Yusef stayed the night with Zainab, immediately seeing the wrong side of it.
Backstory
Born and raised in Pakistan, Yusef married Zainab MasoodZainab 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...
) at the age of 17. Zainab brought shame upon her family after she had an affair with 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...
) while still married. As punishment, Yusef set Zainab on fire, though he claimed it to be his family's doing and he tried to save Zainab. Masood rescued her and Zainab divorced Yusef to marry Masood. Yusef later remarried and had a daughter, 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...
).
2010—
Yusef first appears when Afia introduces him to her boyfriend Tamwar MasoodTamwar 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.-...
). 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 his parent's 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
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
for Walford and takes an interest in Denise Fox
Denise Fox
Denise Celeste Fox is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Diane Parish. She made her first appearance on 11 May 2006. Parish temporarily left EastEnders in early 2008 to give birth to her second child...
(Diane Parish
Diane Parish
Diane Parish is a British actress best known for her role as Denise Johnson in the BBC Soap EastEnders and DC Eva Sharpe in The Bill.-Career:...
). He is later pickpocketed by Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks
Charlie Brooks
Charlene "Charlie" Brooks is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Janine Butcher on the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
). Denise tells Yusef that there have been rumours about him going round, Dot Branning
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
(June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
) 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
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:...
) 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 offers a loan for the damaged roof, which Masood refuses, but Zainab later accepts. This causes arguments between Masood and Zainab. Yusef makes out that he is sleeping with Zainab so Masood and Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
(Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden is an English actor, known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since1990.-Early life:...
) 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 (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 Shah
Amira Shah is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Preeya Kalidas. The girlfriend, and later wife, of Syed Masood , 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,...
(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...
), Yusef visits 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:...
) at his office and offers to avenge Syed's 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 is causing Zainab's worries, Masood divorces Zainab by saying the triple talaq. 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
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), about Syed's paternity of Yasmin. Christian then asks Yusef to perform a secret paternity test on Yasmin, however Yusef uses his own DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
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 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 he needs her on his 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 lies to Zainab that Phil is still looking for Christian and Syed and it is not safe, so he moves in. 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.
Casting
Bhatti was already known to EastEnders executive producer Bryan KirkwoodBryan Kirkwood (producer)
Bryan Kirkwood is a Scottish-born British television producer. He was the producer of teen Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2006 until 2009 and has been the executive producer of the BBC soap EastEnders since 2010.- Personal life :...
when he auditioned for the part, as Kirkwood and Bhatti worked on Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
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!"
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 GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
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". Wadia opined that Yusef is not evil but much more complex than that, and his personality would be explored during his storyline. Bhatti told Inside Soap
Inside Soap
Inside Soap is a weekly UK magazine, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas shown in the United Kingdom....
that Yusef has "more bad qualities than good" but is insecure because when Zainab left him, it brought shame on his family.
Storyline development
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 2011British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...
to Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
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."
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 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
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, "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 [Zainab] back 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 are to air on 2 June 2011 with Phil Mitchell also taking revenge alongside Masood. In an interview with Inside Soap, Khan admits that he is sympathetic for his character, Yusef. The actor said: "He's very insecure. Zainab left him when he was 17 and it brought shame on him and his family. I can understand his behaviour in some ways."Meanwhile, discussing the fan reaction to his character, he admitted: "A couple of women have come up and told me that I'm a bad man." Bhatti also hinted that Yusef will become more firmly established as a Walford villain over the next few weeks. "Well, Yusef does have more bad qualities than good. Fans call me Dr Evil."
Yusef is wrongly accused of having an affair with Zainab, due to his sister-in-law overhearing them speaking. "The whole day turns into a disaster. When Shameem sees Yusef and Zainab together she automatically thinks they're having an affair," a source said. "Everyone struggles to come to terms with what they have just heard." Bhatti has admitted that he is surprised by his status as a heartthrob. Interviewed by Will Payne of the Sunday Mirror, he commented, "It's a great compliment, but a complete surprise. Maybe women love the character, but if they get to know me they find I'm not smooth, I'm not sophisticated and I don't drive flash cars. I prefer trainers and jeans to smart suits."
Reception
Bhatti revealed that since appearing in EastEnders, people have come up to him in the street and called him a "bad man", and that fans call him "Dr Evil". In May 2011 he was voted 'Best Newcomer' at the TV QuickTV Quick
TV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
awards and for 'Best Storyline' for destroying the Masoods. Bhatti was surprised to hear that Yusef is liked mainly by women, but in an interview with the Daily Mirror, he admits that he is nothing like Yusef in real life.
See also
- List of EastEnders characters (2010)
- List of fictional doctors
- List of soap opera villains