Former EastEnders star Nitin Ganatra has admitted that he now works in his brother’s corner shop three years after quitting the soap.
The actor – best known as fan favourite Masood Ahmed on the hit BBC soap – revealed he now spends time making money by helping out in the family business in between acting jobs.
Talking on the Made In The Midlands podcast Nitin, 54, confessed he has traded in the east end of London for Coventry as he discussed life adapting to helping out with the day to day running of the shop.
He said: “The corner shop has been there for over 45 years. My brother runs it still. On Sunday, I was doing the papers with him.
(Image: BBC / Kieron McCarron)
“I was up at 4.30 am doing the papers and trying not to mess up the paper round. It’s still got penny chews and the jars of sweets, all those lovely little things.”
Nitin then addressed the issue of racism as he revealed the shop was attacked by racist thugs last year- something with has been part and parcel of life running the shop.
He explained: “The windows were smashed and my brother was attacked last year. But I’m talking specifically about the 70s and 80s.
(Image: BBC/Nicky Johnston)
“Often, you’d get people throwing bricks at the windows and the house, they would come in and smash the shop up.
“My dad was attacked, but he fought back as well, and my brother was attacked, and my mum was spat at. It wasn’t a daily occurrence, but it was an angry, volatile time.”
Nitin also admitted to struggling at school because of the racist attitudes of his peers.
(Image: BBC)
He said: “It was horrible at school, it really was. I’m not in touch with many school friends, but I’ve got one friend who lives in the Midlands, he’s a musician, and I remember him saying to me ‘what I liked about you was you got beaten up every day and called the P-word, and you still got up and carried on as if nothing had happened.’
“Obviously, people will now say that is called trauma and PTSD, that will pop up sooner or later. But I just thought that was normal behaviour. You just go ‘this is normal to be called the P-word and spat at.'”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
