Amira Masood (also
Shah) is a
fictional character from the
BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by
Preeya Kalidas. The girlfriend, and later wife, of
Syed Masood (
Marc Elliott), Amira first appeared on screen in the episode broadcast on 7 May 2009. The character was described as high maintenance, lonely and insecure. Amira and Syed's wedding on 1 January 2010 was watched by an average of 11.64 million viewers. Although credited with the name
Amira Masood on the BBC website after the wedding episode, actor
Nitin Ganatra (on-screen father-in-law
Masood Ahmed) has stated that according to
naming conventions in Pakistani culture, her name should be
Amira Syed. Kalidas quit the show in January 2010 to concentrate on a career in music, filming her final scenes in March 2010. Her final episode was broadcast on 26 April 2010, after Amira discovered that her husband was gay and had been having an affair with
Christian Clarke (
John Partridge). She returned on
EastEnders on 10 October 2011, but appeared in two extra scenes available on
BBC Online and
BBC Red Button called
Amira's Secret, on 6 and 8 September 2011. The character departed on 8 March 2012. On 11 September 2012, it was confirmed that
Kalidas would return to play Amira once more in a brief guest appearance, in the buildup to the permanent departure of Syed and Christian from the show. She returned on 6 November 2012, and departed once more on 12 November 2012.