22 March 2023 , 14:10
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EastEnders legend Nitin Ganatra has swapped Walford for Coventry and is working at his family's newsagents.
The actor, 55, played postman Masood Ahmed in the soap before he quit in 2019 to pursue other projects.
He's now working at his family's business, helping his brother with the papers at 4.30am.
Explaining that he joins his sibling in between acting work, Nitin said: “People do double-takes when I'm there helping my brother with the papers at 4.30 in the morning, and especially working in the shop. It's a bit bizarre.
“But it’s my family's business, so why would I not help out? It's normal to me.
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“If you're visiting your family, you can't just expect to be served, you have to join in.”
EastEnders legend Nitin Ganatra has swapped Walford for Coventry (Nitin Ganatra/Cadbury)
He's worked at the shop since he was 10 (Nitin Ganatra/Cadbury)Nitin has been working at the family newsagents since he was 10, but said he preferred to be 'behind the scenes', admitting the till 'terrified him', reports The Sun.
He bagged the role of Masood in 2007 and was involved in some hard-hitting storylines, including the watershed moment when he discovered his son's gay affair.
The gripping love triangle, involving Syed, Christian Clarke and Amira Masood, earned actor Marc Elliott, who played Syed, British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.
Nitin was also praised for the way he handled Masood's conflicted response.
He was involved in some hard-hitting storylines in EastEndersHowever after 12 years on the show, the father-of-two said he needed to take on another role, stressing he didn't become an actor just to get 'play one character'.
That said, he hasn't ruled out a return to EastEnders.
“I'd never say never to anything," he said.
Explaining he'd like to keep the door open, Nitin reckons he'd "really have to think" about whether he wanted to make a return to Walford if BBC bosses were to ask him.
He quit the soap in 2019 (BBC)The actor was most recently in Netflix hit Wednesday, playing Dr. Anwar, and has number of interesting projects coming up, including the fourth series of Sky comedy Breeders, with Martin Freeman, and a Paramount Plus prequel to 2000 movie Sexy Beast.
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He’s also just wrapped filming on Alan Carr ’s upcoming semi-autobiographical comedy, Changing Ends,
Off-screen, the soap legend has become an unlikely TikTok star, boasting more than 12,500 followers.
After posting a video of himself using a filter, he got 10,000 followers in five days, joking: “I found this whole playground where I'm being celebrated by all these young people going, 'Oh, look at the old Masood. Isn't he cute? He's found TikTok!’”