EastEnders actress Nina Wadia has dismissed the effectiveness of so-called fat jabs, insisting that a slow approach to weight loss through exercise and healthier eating is the only sustainable method. The 57-year-old, best known for playing Zainab Masood in the BBC soap for six years, spoke candidly about her recent transformation.
Wadia, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, said she had lost weight gradually. "For me I have done it very, very slowly. I exercise. I walk. I eat healthier. I think it's better to do it that way," she explained. Referring to fat jabs, she added: "Quick fixes never work. It's a change in lifestyle. I've just done work with the NHS on this."
The actress, who promotes the This Girl Can campaign to encourage activity in older age, said she is drinking natural juices and eating more vegetarian food. She said the changes have given her more energy.
However, Wadia admitted that work opportunities are becoming "more scarce" as she gets older. "As you get older jobs get a bit more scarce. Just generally speaking it's just trying to balance career and lifestyle," she said. She also spoke about the challenges of being a working mother, saying: "It's hard being a mother and having this career because you do have to prioritise being a mother, that is the most important. Throughout my career there has been moments of discrimination for being a mother, and I've chosen motherhood over the work, and they've been like okay, well maybe we won't see you for another couple of years. It's tough."
Wadia left EastEnders in 2013 after six years, citing "ridiculous storylines" as a key factor. Speaking on Vanessa Feltz's Channel 5 show, she said: "When the storylines get so ridiculous and so difficult, you kind of think 'I'm out'." She added that her character's husband Masood was set to have another affair, which left her unable to react differently.
