New “EastEnders”' Character (Finally) Brings Diversity to Soaps

“It’s just you and me,” Christian told Syed in October. But Syed responded, “It’s never just you and me though, is it? God will always know.”

At one point, Syed visited an imam, who told him, flat-out, that homosexuality is unacceptable.

Still, the show has occasionally tried to take a lighter approach to the controversial storyline. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to another woman in your life,” Syed’s mother, who’s been busy trying to set him up with girls, told him recently.

“Never,” Syed responded ironically.

"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,” executive producer Diederick Santer told the U.K. newspaper The Sun. "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."

Gay Muslim or Middle Eastern characters anywhere on television are rare on both sides of the pond, but they’ve turned up recently in such American shows as The War at Home, Sleeper Cell, and Nurse Jackie.