Asian actress quits EastEnders over producers' snub

London, Sept 8 : 'EastEnders' star Zahra Ahmadi walked out of the show after the producers refused to give her an exciting part.

Sources have revealed that Ahmadi, who plays Shabnam Masood, left the show as she was barely featuring in new scripts.

"Zahra was really disappointed with the way scriptwriters used her character. You hardly ever saw her on screen. If she had been given exciting scenes she would have stayed for a long time," British tabloid The Sun quoted a source as saying. "Working on EastEnders is a dream come true for any aspiring star. But she began to feel she was wasting her time," the source added.

Zahra's decision comes a month after the BBC1 soap was condemned by race equality chief Trevor Phillips.

He said that EastEnders had so few ethnic characters it more accurately reflected the East London of the 1960s.

The Masood's are the soap's first Muslim family since the Karims, who moved out of Albert Square in 1990.

Axed star Angela Wynter, who played Yolande Trueman, also alleged that the soap was "operating a quota system" on the number of ethnic characters after her scenes reduced ahead of her exit.

However, the 28-year-old Zahra is now looking at new roles, but hinted at a return to Albert Square.

"I've made the tough decision to leave as I'm still young and I want to try other roles. But I'm really happy the door has been left open for me to return, as it has been a great experience," she said.

ANI