Nina Wadia features in new ITV drama Too Close as Dr Anita Rhys Evans. Here’s a quick reminder of all her other fab roles on TV – including, of course, EastEnders’ matriarch Zainab.
Who is Nina Wadia?
Actress Nina, who is 52, is best known for her six-year stint in soap opera EastEnders as big mouthed Muslim matriarch Zainab Khan, although she describes herself as more of a comedy actress.
She was born in Mumbai, India in 1968. When she was nine the family moved to Hong Kong, and then finally to the UK.
Who does Nina Wadia play in Too Close?
She plays Dr Anita Rhys Evans in the dark psychological ITV drama.
Read more: Chizzy Akudolu to star in Too Close. But what else has she been in?
Is Nina Wadia married and does she have kids?
Yes she married composer Raiomond Mirza, who she first met in Canada, in 1998. She has called him “my rock, my love, my all”. They have two kids – daughter Tina Nina, 17 and son Aidan, 14 and live in Staines-upon-Thames.
Was Nina Wadia in Goodness Gracious Me?
She was part of the original line up of the comedy sketch show alongside Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar between 1998 and 2001 and returned for the special reunion show in 2015.
What else has Nina Wadia been in?
Nina has starred with David Jason in Still Open All Hours. She also had a role in Holby City as neuro surgeon Annabelle Cooper and appeared in Skins as Bibi, the mother of Anwar Kharral, played by Dev Patel.
Nina was also part of the presenting panel of Loose Women, the all female lunch time chat show between 2005 and 2006.
Why did Nina Wadia leave EastEnders?
Nina joined EastEnders in 2007 but quit in 2013 after six years as Zainab. She said “I was turning into my character, to which my husband amazingly said, ‘I don’t like the woman so can I have my wife back?’ But she also explained it was so she could spend more time with her children as they were growing up.
Her character Zainab left the show After Masood called time on their relationship. Zainab took their son Kamil and left the Square, bound for Pakistan.
Could Zainab go back to EastEnders?
As long as she’s not been killed off, never say never. Nina said. “I asked to be killed off, because I wanted a big story end. But they didn’t want to kill the character, which was much loved by the audience. I love that show and it did a lot to my career. I will always be thankful to EastEnders and if they asked me to, I would absolutely go back for a bit”. So watch this space.
Read more: Too Close on ITV: What’s it about, who’s in the drama and when is it on?
How did Nina Wadia lose weight?
Back in 2017 Nina lost a whopping 26 lbs after a lifestyle overhaul. “I saw myself in this little indie movie I did called Finding Fatima, ‘I thought, I look like I ate myself, I really need to change the way I look.’ I made my family miserable by making everyone eat healthy.” Nina also increased her levels of exercise, which contributed to her successful weight loss.
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