John Partridge

A Muslim 'EastEnders' character is to have a gay romance. Newcomer Syed Masood will fall for openly gay Walford resident Christian Clarke, in a storyline which is set to shock Muslim viewers - as homosexuality is forbidden under Islamic law. Executive producer of the BBC soap Diedrick Santer said: "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.

"To all intents and purposes, Syed is 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."

Syed - played by Marc Elliott - and Christian (John Partridge) will be seen passionately kissing in scenes to be aired in June.

Although Syed has a girlfriend he will be seen having problems as he realises his real sexuality.

He will also find the reaction of his family - including father Mas and mother Zainab - difficult to deal with.

It has been claimed the new plotline could cause Muslim viewers to boycott the show.

A recent survey of 500 British Muslims by research company Gallup showed none were tolerant of homosexuality.