A FORMER EastEnders star looked worlds away from her character in Albert Square as she appeared in last night's series premiere of The Bay.
Zahra Ahmadi, who was the first actress to play Shabnam Masood back in 2007, returned to screens in ITV's grisly drama as Shazia Riaz.
The 40-year-old has built up a fine CV of acting credits since leaving the Square including roles in Doctor Who, Black Mirror and Marcella.
In EastEnders Zahra was daughter of Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia). Her year on the show was dominated by a major identity crisis as she struggled to find a balance between her family's traditional Muslim heritage and British culture.
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