- published: 22 Feb 2016
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Afia Masood (also Khan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Meryl Fernandes.
Afia appeared in five episodes between 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010, and returned on 18 November 2010. This is Fernandes' second role in EastEnders, her first being a schoolgirl in 1993. Due to Fernandes' character initially being a guest, the character was not announced. Afia was introduced as a love interest for Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel). Her father was later introduced as Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) who was the former husband of Tamwar's mother, Zainab (Nina Wadia). Upon hearing Fernandes' return in late 2010, Patel said he was "glad" that he is able to explore another side to Tamwar's character. Patel and Fernandes said that they want their characters to have a happy ending. Fernandes said she wants the characters to "live happily ever after". Tamwar and Afia's wedding was voted best wedding at the Inside Soap awards 2011. Afia is described as "adventurous and straight to the point, doesn't sugar-coat the truth, and doesn't follow everyone else." She has also been described as "slightly erratic" and "aloof". It was announced in May 2012 that Fernandes had finished filming her final scenes and that Afia would leave EastEnders in June. She departed on 7 June 2012.