Masood Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nitin Ganatra. The character made his first appearance in episode 3452, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2007. Masood was introduced as part of the Masood family, a Pakistani-Muslim family gradually introduced across 2007 as part of plans to "diversify" the serial. This marked Ganatra's first role in soap opera and he was "nervous but excited" about joining the serial. His problematic marriage to Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), who he had previously starred alongside, served as a key storyline for the character throughout his tenure. Early storylines for the character include bankruptcy and struggling to accept his son Syed Masood's (Marc Elliott) homosexuality. Masood and Ganatra were received positive reception from viewers and critics and has been nominated for several awards. In 2011, the character had an affair with Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), which led to end of his and Zainab's marriage, before embarking on a feud with Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti). Masood later begins a relationship with Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), which develops into a love triangle following the return of Carol's former partner, David Wicks (Michael French). The character has since entered into relationships with Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford), Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). Ganatra's departure was announced on 1 September 2016, becoming the last member of the Masood family to leave. Masood made his departure in episode 5388, broadcast on 17 November 2016. In October 2017, it was announced that Masood would be returning to the show full-time, along with members of his extended family. He made a brief appearance on 28 November 2017 and returned permanently on 1 January 2018. On 26 January 2019, it was announced Ganatra had quit the soap again and Masood departed in episode 5871, originally broadcast on 19 February 2019. Masood left the square to live in Pakistan.