Eastenders is planning to spice up the plotline revolving its only Asian / Muslim family with a gay twist.

The BBC soap’s producers said today that the storyline would be a, “traditional love affair, albeit with a modern multicultural twist”.

24-year-old Syed Masood, played by actor Marc Elliott, will find his religion and sexual feelings “in conflict” when he falls for openly gay Christian Clarke. They will share an on-screen kiss in June.

Syed Mahmood is currently dating Amira Shah, played by actress Preeya Kalidas. They both arrived in Albert Square just under two months ago.

Diederick Santer, Eastenders executive producer, told the Guardian today: “We’ve always tried to make EastEnders reflect modern life in multicultural Britain and we’ve always told social issue stories relevant to our diverse audience. This isn’t a moral tale of right or wrong; it’s very much a human interest story where a young man struggles with the conflict between his faith and his feelings.”

“In this regard, it’s not dissimilar to the story we told when Dot Cotton’s deeply held Christian beliefs came into conflict with her desire to alleviate Ethel’s suffering [in a euthanasia plotline].”

“To all intents and purposes, Syed’s a ‘good’ Muslim man: he doesn’t drink, smoke or engage in sex before marriage. But he struggles with his sexuality when he finds himself drawn to Christian and he believes this goes against his faith. This is not a story about Syed and Christian’s physical relationship – we don’t see anything beyond one kiss. It’s more about the inner turmoil and conflict Syed endures trying to remain true to his faith while questioning his sexuality.”

It is understood that the BBC consulted with several people and organisations before unveiling the plot line. These are said to have included academics, gay Muslim support groups (Al-Fatiha), members of the Muslim Council of Britain.

British Muslims hold more quite conservative views towards homosexuality. A recrnt survey found that none of the people questioned believed homosexual acts were religiously acceptable.

BBC’s Santer added that their intention was to develop the Masoods as “rounded human beings tackling the issues of day-to-day life in Albert Square”.

“The dynamics of Muslim relationships and families are not radically different from any others but the importance that Muslim culture places on family and married life can make the same issues more charged.”

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