Former EastEnders star slams current Asian family on show

LONDON - Former EastEnders star Deepak Verma has slammed the BBC soap opera, claiming that the show’s current Asian family is nowhere realistic.

Verma, 40, who had played the part of market trader Sanjay Kapoor in the show in the 1990s, said that the Masoods were “two-dimensional and ill-conceived” with “stupid clothes and accents”.

He also praised rival ITV1’s Coronation Street and Jimmi Harkishin’s “brilliant” portrayal of Asian Dev Alahan.

“He’s a dodgy womanising sleazebag. He’s Indian but that’s got nothing to do with it. He’s just a brilliant actor,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

A Beeb spokeswoman disagreed with Verma’s view of the family, saying that they were popular with viewers.

“It’s a shame Deepak feels that way,” she said.

“But the Masood family is hugely popular with EastEnders viewers,” she added. (ANI)