Yusef Khan is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ace Bhatti.
Yusef is the father of Afia Khan (Meryl Fernandes) and former husband of Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia).
He departed on 26 December 2011, following the end of his domestic abuse storyline with his wife Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) in which he served as the show's main antagonist.
Yusef becomes the local general practitioner for Walford and takes an interest in Denise Fox (Diane Parish).
[2][3] Yusef learns that Amira gave birth to Syed's daughter Yasmin, so persuades Zainab to take a holiday with him and Kamil in Pakistan.
Amira ignores him and Zainab meets Yasmin, and informs Yusef that she cannot leave Walford after becoming a grandmother.
Yusef then tries to encourage Zainab to move to Pakistan, and recruits Amira to manipulate Syed with the same idea.
She later forgives Yusef, and tells Afia that she deserved what happened to her when he started the fire, because he had been her husband and she had cheated on him.
During the visit, it emerges that Yusef told Bushra's family that Zainab had a nervous breakdown, which is why he needed to have Kamil looked after.
When Yusef takes a call outside the café, Zainab tries to escape with Kamil through an emergency exit in the back of the shop.
Realising Zainab tricked him, he briefly smiles, and the floor collapses beneath him, and he succumbs to the flames.
[14] Ganatra spoke at the British Soap Awards 2011 to Digital Spy and praised the impact of Yusef, saying,"He's very much an arch-villain - he's a great character who's there to put jeopardy into the Masoods' relationship.
When a fire was reported to be happening around Christmas 2011, rumours emerged from an alleged EastEnders insider that "Yusef has long been tipped as a possible fatality".
[7] On the EastEnders website, Yusef is described as calm, collected, strong-willed, mysterious, loyal to Afia and regretful of his past.
[17] Daniel Maier from The Guardian said that Yusef "is clearly a wrong 'un but it's hard to tell exactly what his game is.
Meanwhile, discussing the fan reaction to his character, Bhatti admitted that women have told him that he's a "bad man".
When Shameem sees Yusef and Zainab together, she automatically thinks they're having an affair, and everyone struggles to come to terms with what they have heard.
Bhatti hinted that perhaps women love the character, but he prefers trainers and jeans to smart suits.
[24] In April 2011, it was reported that Masood would kidnap Yusef, pour petrol on him and threaten to set him on fire.
Tension has been simmering for a while and leads to an outpouring of violence from Masood that leaves Yusef seriously injured.
Yusef goes on to explain that he knew it was wrong the minute he lit the match, and that he ran into the house to save her.
"[27] A short time before their wedding day arrives, Yusef starts to abuse Zainab both physically and mentally.
To be honest, if even one woman rings that Action Line at the end of the show and there's some difference made to her life, I'll feel like we've done our job," she continued.
Zainab was strong and not naive, but a woman is vulnerable if the man hits the right psychological weak spots.
Wadia has been given advice on the storyline from the Roshni refuge in Birmingham, which specializes in abuse within Asian families.
She said to Inside Soap: "I was filming out on location recently with Ace and a bunch of women came over to him and said, 'God, you're such a horrible man!'
Masood calls in the police, and they make sure that Kamil is safe, but we're left to wonder if he will stay that way.
I thought that was a great line and really interesting - I think in that moment, Masood's representing a lot of fathers who have separated or divorced and don't have access to their children in the same way.
"[32] The scenes showing Masood and Denise racing to the café where Kamil was raised 8.26 million viewers.
[36] Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror said that Zainab sending Yusef into the blazing building was a "stroke of genius".