I know that there has been threads on this before, but tonight's episode really proved that the Masood's are lost without Zainab! It's just bit the same without her and the drama/comedy she brought to the show! I'm not really willing to invest time in the Masood's if they don't get her back tbh!

http://m.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/e...-asked-me.html

The article above clearly states that Nina would return! So I hope they do ask her back, and maybe they might have and kept it as a surprise! I hope so anyway!

Also, wtf has happened to Shabnam?!?! She used to be really rebellious and a chilled out girl and now she's all religious and she's become really stuck up? I hope we can investigate into this, and why she has changed, and I hope we can see the old Shabnam back soon, as the Shabnam that left was lovely and fun!

I agree with some of your points but I do hope you aren't suggesting that overly religious people aren't "lovely and fun".

New Shabnam is much more interesting than the old version.

No I'm not, but the Shabnam that has returned is not the Shabnam that left, I'm basically trying to say the character has changed, and become really religious and not as fun as she used to be! I am not saying she can't be fun because she's not religious, I'm just saying the character has changed severely and we don't even know why, and she's been back for nearly a year now:/

Who is that new guy in the van? I know him from somewhere previously...

God forbid the writers from showing growth and change in a character. How dare they add depth to a characters. Leave our characters with two dimensions, I say!

I disagree, I think the Masoods still work they just need a bit of work, which they should get when Shabnam's story starts. I like Shabnam, despite little screentime the actress has created a well rounded character imo, she almost makes me not miss Zainab as much, and the character change is perfectly reasonable as after she spent to few years in Pakistan to "find herself" and get back in touch with her religion. I would have found it hard to believe if she came back exactly the same as she left.

Tamwar works really well with Nancy so there's a place on the square for him as well, and according to Nitin Ganatra, Masood has a lot to do with Shabnam's upcoming storyline.

Also, can I say how much I hate half titles that force you to open the thread to find out what it's really about. So desperate and pointless, especially when there's an episode thread to discuss all the things tonight's episode supposedly proved.

I am not familiar with the old Shabnam, I didn't know about her character until she came back from Pakistan. The storyline where she left must have been during the period between July 2008 and February 2011, when I left for the USA and had not yet managed to establish the opportunity or technology to watch UK TV! My first day back watching Eastenders was when the baby swap was discovered. I missed the Corrie tram crash too!

Is that the official word from Popedom?

Lol what a funny post!!

Why is it funny! I didn't know the old Shabnam.

It wasn't the Shabnam bit, it was the rest of the comment. It just came across a little cringe. Don't mean to sound bad.

What does a little cringe mean? Missing 2 1/2 years of soaps?

I hadn't watched corrie or EE in ages but I also started watching again the same time you did!

No. Just the way you worded it all, it was funny in a way that made me cringe.

The Masoods were seriously suffering without Zainab, but when Shabnam 2.0 arrived it really reshaped them as a family. I'd love Zainab to come back, but they don't need her.

I liked the Romance between Grahame and Xin on Coronation Street. Not so keen on Ronnie and her breakdown though... Welcome back to the world of escapism that runs life in the UK.

I don't think they are lost without her

I agree. How can they be lost. They never travel more than 100 yards.

I like the new Shabnam, she can be a little bit bitchy at times. Don't want to see Masood going off the rails again though

You missed the Danielle shrine

Kush, and he was a in Casualty, he played a gay character, with an accent.

I miss Zainab and would welcome her back to the Masoods with welcome arms but I don't think the show or family necessarily needs her.

I do think Shabnam has filled the void. The family was terrible as a male Masood-Tamwar-AJ three piece. It's here that they truly suffered. Shabnam seems to have injected some life into the Masoods and has reminded the viewers that they require a much needed female presence.

I also prefer Rakhee’s Shabnam to the Zahra’s. The new actress brings depth and layers to the character and the writing and development for her is so much better. The old Shabnam was fun and carefree. There was nothing wrong with her but she wasn't particularly interesting either. New Shabnam is multi-layered. She is stuck up and judgemental but she can also be quite caring and compassionate.

Being away in Pakistain for 5 years, it doesn't surprise me that she got in touch with religious side. After all, she did leave to find herself and as we can see, she found her religion. I have no doubt there is a backstory to be told but I have no interest in seeing the ‘old’ Shabnam back. I'd like to see more layers to her character and have no problem with see her fun side and one that doesn’t take herself so seriously but if EE have her loose her scalf, start drinking and/or start sleeping around, I'd be annoyed.

In all the time Zainab's been gone, they've been left in the background. BK did very little with them, LN didn't know what to do with them, and now DTC is in charge he doesn't seem to know either. I'd like to see Zainab back, but I also wouldn't mind Shabnab being developed and the family actually getting screen time/a story that doesn't last the length of a sneeze either.

edited to add: Completely agree with the eloquent KatrinaK.

That's partly due to the refusal to gove Zahra a storyline and barely featured her which lead to her actually quitting. Not Zahra herself but the writers team