'EastEnders' Star Nina Wadia Turned Down Return As Zainab Masood Last Year

'Never say never.'

Former ‘EastEnders’ star Nina Wadia has revealed she turned down the chance to return to Albert Square, as she’s currently trying to make it across the pond.

Nina was best known to soap fans as Zainab Masood, a role she played in the soap for six years until she stepped down back in 2013.

Since then, she’s starred in the BBC reboot ‘Still Open All Hours’ and landed film roles in ‘A Streetcar Named Bob’ and ‘Finding Fatimah’, but revealed in an interview on ‘This Morning’ that she could have made a return to Walford.

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Nina Wadia
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However, she refused the offer, as she’s currently waiting to find out whether she’s bagged a big role in the US.

She said on Wednesday (12 April): “They did [ask me back] last year actually, they did! But I was doing a pilot out in the States and I said I couldn’t do it, I’m still waiting to hear on that.”

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Nina in character as Zainab Masood
BBC

The pilot in question is for a new show by comedians Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy, who are best known for ‘The Mindy Project’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’ respectively.

Nina plays a “piece of work” nail technician, adding: “I love her! I will know [whether the show is going ahead] in about seven weeks”.

If Nina does land the TV role, she won’t be the first former ‘EastEnders’ star to make it big overseas.

Ben Hardy, who played Peter Beale, is currently enjoying success as a new addition to the ‘X-Men’ cast, while Michelle Ryan went on to star in the US drama ‘Bionic Woman’.

Stars Who've Swapped Soaps For Hollywood
Ben Hardy(01 of16)
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In one pretty impressive career move, former EastEnders star Ben (aka Peter Beale) swapped Walford for Wolverine by nabbing a role in X-Men: Apocalypse, playing Angel.

He also won acclaim when he was cast as Roger Taylor in the hit Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and has appeared in other films including Only The Brave and 6 Underground.
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Nathalie Emmanuel(02 of16)
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Nathalie went from playing Hollyoaks' Sasha Valentine to starring in of the world's biggest shows when she was cast as Missandei in Game Of Thrones in 2013 – a role she played until the series' conclusion in 2019.

She currently voices Deet in Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, while her film credits include her role as Ramsey in Fast And Furious 7, 8 and the upcoming 9th instalment, as well as the Maze Runner film series.
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Roxanne McKee(03 of16)
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Roxanne spent three years in Hollyoaks as Louise Summers, before taking a number of small parts in the UK and eventually relocating.

In the US, she reached a new fanbase when she played Doreah in Game Of Thrones from 2011 to 2012, before going on to appear in US TV series Dominion, as well as appearing in starred in films including Vendetta (2013) and The Legend of Hercules (2014).
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Sam Strike(04 of16)
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EastEnders' original Johnny Carter actor Sam followed Ben Hardy's lead out of from Albert Square, and nabbed himself a part in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel Leatherface.

He has also appeared on US TV series Mindhunter, Nightflyers and FBI: Most Wanted.
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Ricky Whittle(05 of16)
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Ricky set off for LA not long after leaving his role as Calvin Valentine in Hollyoaks in 2011.

After nabbing a number of small roles, he finally got his big US break in 2014, when he began playing Lincoln in the CW Network drama The 100.

Since then, Ricky has appeared in the US adaptation of BBC drama Mistresses, as well as taking the lead role of Shadow Moon in American Gods. In 2018, he also appeared in Netflix film Nappily Ever After.
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Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton(06 of16)
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Rachel – who played Mitzeee Minniver on Hollyoaks – won an Oscar in 2018 for her short film The Silent Child, which told the story of a four-year-old deaf girl, learning to communicate.

She wrote, produced and starred in the film, while her real-life boyfriend Chris – who previously appeared as a cagefighter on Hollyoaks– directed it.
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Claire Cooper(07 of16)
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Claire waved goodbye to Hollyoaks' Jacqui McQueen in 2013, going on to star in the NBC drama A.D. The Bible Continues.

She has since appeared in TV series Strike Back, Knightfall and 12 Monkeys, as well as In The Club back here in the UK.
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Michelle Ryan(08 of16)
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Back in 2007, Michelle became one of EastEnders' first big international successes when the former Zoe Slater star was cast in a US TV remake of The Bionic Woman. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Anna Friel(09 of16)
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While you're more likely to recognise Anna from movies, ITV's Marcella, or perhaps the West End stage, she actually started out in Brookside back in 1993.

She headed out to the US in the late 90s, and appeared in a plethora of films and TV shows, but her breakthrough role came in 2007 when she was cast in the lead role of comedy drama Pushing Daises. The show earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

Some of her film credits include Limitless (2011), The Look of Love (2013) and I.T. (201
Her role in British crime noir Marcella also won her an International Emmy Award in 2017.
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Chris Hemsworth(10 of16)
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Long before Chris was making film fans swoon as Hollywood superhero Thor, he was tearing up the waves of Summer Bay as Home & Away's Kim Hyde.

As well as his Marvel Cinematic Universe role, Chris' film credits include Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghostbusters and Men in Black: International.
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Liam Hemsworth(11 of16)
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Chris' little brother Liam had guest roles in Aussie's two biggest soaps Neighbours and Home And Away before finding a new level of fame in The Hunger Games film series alongside Jennifer Lawrence in 2012.

His other film credits include Independence Day: Resurgence, The Expendables 2 and Netflix's Isn't It Romantic?
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Rob Kazinsky(12 of16)
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Rob's bad boy character Sean Slater caused plenty of trouble in Walford prior to his exit in 2009, and we went on to stir things up as a vampire in US fantasy horror series True Blood in 2013.

Since then, Rob's appeared in films including Pacific Rim, Hot Pursuit and Captain Marvel and starred in Fox series Second Chance.
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Zaraah Abrahams(13 of16)
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Zaraah left her role as Coronation Street's Joanne Jackson back in 2007, and in 2015 she starred in the US medical drama The Knick, where she played Opal Edwards in the second series. (credit:Jon Furniss/Invision/AP)
Barry Sloane(14 of16)
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Barry, who played Hollyoaks serial killer Niall Rafferty until 2008, and went on to have a regular role in hit US drama Revenge from 2012 to 2014.

He's also appeared in The Whispers, Longmire, Saints & Strangers, Six, L.A.'s Finest and Bluff City Law.
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Samara Weaving(15 of16)
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After waving goodbye to Summer Bay in 2013 when she left her role as Home & Away's Indi Walker, Samara packed off to the US where she was cast in Ash vs Evil Dead in 2015.

In 2017, she appeared in Oscar-winning film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and is set to appear in Bill & Ted Face the Music in 2020.

Her other US TV credits include SMILF, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Netflix mini-series Hollywood.
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Margot Robbie(16 of16)
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Margot is arguably soapland's biggest Hollywood export, having gone from Erinsborough school girl Donna to Leo DiCaprio's on-screen wife Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Since her international breakthrough role, Margot has starred in films including Focus, The Big Short, The Legend of Tarzan, Suicide Squad, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Mary Queen of Scots and Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood.

Margot was also nominated for Oscars for her roles in I, Tonya and Bomshell.
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