Syed Masood is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Marc Elliott, and first appeared on screen on 21 April 2009.

Syed's storylines see him fall in love with a man, Christian Clarke (John Partridge), and his eventual acceptance that he is gay.

Syed initially marries his girlfriend Amira Shah (Preeya Kalidas) but later comes out, and enters a relationship with Christian, despite the pressures of his family and his Muslim faith.

Although Masood reveals his previous theft, Zainab forgives her son, and invites him to move into the family home when he is evicted for failing to pay his rent.

He begins working for his parents' catering company, and develops an attraction to his colleague, Christian Clarke (John Partridge).

A hurt Christian tries to move away from Walford, but is unable to forget about Syed, and returns in an attempt to deter him from marriage.

On his wedding day, Syed admits to Christian that he is gay and in love with him, but feels unable to come out because of his family and faith.

Syed is later told to find a new mosque to attend, and implored to leave Walford by Christian's best friend Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons).

The roof of their restaurant collapses and knocks Syed unconscious, Christian and Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) come to his aid.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Elliott described his arrival: "It is so exciting to join the cast of EastEnders and to be working with actors such as Nina Wadia [Zainab] and Nitin Ganatra [Masood] who I have admired for many years.

[5] In an interview with entertainment and media website Digital Spy, Elliott commented on his casting, and the "responsibility" with regard to playing a character that viewers already had preconceived images about: "I hope I'm what everyone expects!

"[5] To prepare for the role, Elliott watched documentaries such as A Jihad for Love which focus on the ways in which gay Muslims reconcile their faith with their sexuality.

Executive Producer Diederick Santer described Syed as "Entrepreneurial, reckless, dashing and complicated, [he's] set to bring surprises and chaos to the Masood family.

[13] However, Santer explained that the storyline will not be a moral tale, but one of human interest, adding: "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].

"[12] Santer also said that EastEnders always tries to "reflect modern life in multicultural Britain and [tell] social issue stories relevant to [its] diverse audience.

I think that's really important because I think London is a very ethnically diverse multicultural place, and EastEnders has a job to reflect that in the story lines it gives people and the characters they have on board.

[15] When asked in a BBC interview in September 2009 if Syed is gay or bisexual, Elliott answered: "I think at this stage there's confusion about his sexuality.

Marc [Elliott] and John [Partridge] have absolutely stepped up to the plate and like all good EastEnders stories, we're not even half done with it yet.

"[19] In 2011, a same-sex parenting storyline which sees Christian and Syed finding a surrogate mother was reported by the Daily Mirror.

[20] In March 2011, it was reported that a Syed would be among characters sustaining injuries when the roof of his parents' restaurant, The Argee Bhajee, collapses.

The scenes, to air in April 2011, were filmed in February, and a spokespoerson said "Despite the ill-feeling between him and his parents, Syed is in the building when the disastrous party takes place.

"[21] The plot could see Syed and Christian share more screentime with the rest of the Masood family, as Partridge commented that the issues may start to be resolved, though not necessarily leading to the outcome viewers will want.

The mixed response from viewers to the scenes confirms the findings of a BBC survey last year, which showed that gay relationships are still a divisive issue.

[22] It was confirmed that newcomer Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy) would be romantically linked to Syed[23] who is embroiled in a serious relationship with Christian Clarke (John Partridge).

"[24] On 7 September 2012, it was announced that Syed and Christian would be departing in November 2012 in an explosive storyline that bosses did not reveal at the time.

Executive producer Lorraine Newman said: "Marc and John have been a fantastic part of the show and their characters have been a huge success.

[28] The 1 January 2010 episode in which Syed marries Amira in a Pakistani wedding received overnight ratings of 11.64 million viewers, an average audience share of 39.3%.

The ultimate five minutes of the episode, in which Christian and Syed share an emotional goodbye, received a peak of 12.34 million viewers.

The BBC responded by saying "It was not intended to be a disrespectful act, rather a totally spontaneous one, symbolic of Syed's utter confusion and frustration at what feels like an impossible situation.

[32] In the same month, the Syed-Christian storyline was commented on in Stonewall research, which found that positive and realistic gay characters appear in just 0.6% of broadcast television.