Tamwar Masood - Reception

Reception

In 2008, it was reported that Cambridge University wanted to shed its "elitist" image and approached the producers of Britain's three leading soaps, EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, to include it in their storylines. Spokesman Greg Hayman said the idea was part of a bid to correct the perception that Cambridge was "not for young people from ordinary backgrounds. We're very keen to attract the brightest and best students regardless of their background," Hayman said. "One of the better ways of communicating directly with potential students is to talk to them through the soaps and other programs they watch." This move followed government pressure for the university to become more inclusive and to target all economic backgrounds. 90% of British students attend state high schools, Oxford and a Cambridge draw only about half their student body from there. It was reported that working-class individuals view attending Oxford or Cambridge as an impossible dream, which university officials claim is unfair and they are hoping to dispel this by featuring the Universities in working-class soaps such as EastEnders. Hayman said there have been no firm commitments from TV producers, although one crew was planning an exploratory visit to Cambridge; however he expressed that he was happy with the plot running in EastEnders that showed "working-class teenagers Tamwar Masood and Libby Fox considering applying to Cambridge and Oxford, to the delight of their ambitious mothers", saying that "It's a very happy coincidence." Oxford University said it had no plans to write to the soaps for inclusion but a spokesperson claims, "I did speak to somebody at EastEnders about our bursary scheme in case the story line was going to continue. We wanted to make sure they knew what kind of assistance might be available to someone like Libby." EastEnders refused to comment on whether the universities would be featured at the time, as Tamwar and Libby still had another year left at college "and it was too early to say whether the Oxford-Cambridge plot would continue."

Reporting on the University storyline, The Guardian noted that Libby and Tamwar applying to the universities "could be their dream storyline: clever state school kids can get a place. But it could also be their worst nightmare. Young Libby is already revealing concerns that she might not be able to afford to go to the university." The paper alleges that both universities' press offices "fired off letters to the script editors: did they know about the generous bursaries and seemingly bottomless pit of cash available to help students from low-income homes stay on their courses? Could that be mentioned?".

Tamwar, along with the rest of the Masood family, was criticised by actor Deepak Verma, who played Sanjay Kapoor between 1993 and 1998. He said that EastEnders had failed to portray Asian families in a realistic manner, branding the family "two-dimensional and ill-conceived". A BBC spokesperson responded by saying ""It's a shame Deepak feels that way but that's clearly his personal opinion. The Masood family have proved to be hugely popular with EastEnders viewers." In 2009, Ruth Deller of entertainment website lowculture.co.uk praised Tamwar, stating: "Tamwar has really come into his own lately, and everyone is rooting for him to get with Amira – he appeals to the inner geek in all of us, except he's probably better at one-liners." A writer for website Watch With Mothers also praised Tamwar in the light of the reveal of his brother Syed's affair with gay character Christian Clarke, saying this his line "so long as we've got each other" was so mature that it "elevated his character above the entire plot-strand, everyone around him and, almost, the entire show. Tamwar's was the only script containing any genuine sensitivity or common sense."