EastEnders legend Nina Wadia, who delighted audiences as Zainab Masood on Albert Square, has claimed she wants to join rival soap Coronation Street. The actress reckons she’d have a ball in Weatherfield.

Former BBC soap star Nina Wadia said about the potential to leave the South behind for the North: “I’d love to tread the cobbles. That would be a lot of fun.

“When you’re on a soap, you get the chance to develop your character during a workshop at the start,” the actress added. “Then because you’re living the character, you find out more about them.

Nina officially bowed out of EastEnders after years in Walford in February of 2013. Since then, the star has taken on the likes of Strictly Come Dancing, though she was awkwardly the first person to be voted out of the competition when she took part in 2021.

But now Nina has got the hankering to come back to the world of soap, admitting she would not turn the opportunity down if it came to her. “I haven’t been offered any soap roles lately, but who knows what will happen?” she explained.

“I know a couple of the Corrie cast but I wouldn’t put them under pressure to help me get a role!” she added. Nina’s career has ventured into other projects including heartbreaking show Isolation Stories, filmed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nina added she is used to working long hours, thanks to her six years playing feisty Zainab Masood on EastEnders. But while she is not actively looking to make her debut on another soap, she said she is happy to push herself for the right role.

She said: “Being on a soap is very busy. But I love hard work. That’s what I thrive on.”

Nina has had a string of high profile roles in recent years on shows including The Sandman, The Outlaws and Midsomer Murders and there are more in the pipeline. She said: “I’ve got projects lined up for next year. I’ll be doing my first ever video game.”

Her most recent acting credit came in 2023, when she starred as Binta Prabhu in former BBC staple Doctors before it was eventually cancelled. Outside of her TV work, she has also turned to radio and theatre work, making her first panto appearance in 2023 playing Fairy Sugarsnap in Jack and the Beanstalk in York.

During her stint in panto, she shocked audiences as she was able to help her niece get engaged during the course of one of her shows. Reflecting on the experience, she told the BBC: “I felt so privileged to be a part of my niece’s love story.”