EastEnders actor Marc Elliot reveals abuse over gay role

EastEnders actor Marc Elliot, who plays Syed Masood in the BBC One soap, has revealed he has been subjected to homophobic abuse for the recent storyline that saw his character embark on a gay affair with neighbour Christian Clarke [John Partridge].

 

 

EastEnders actor Marc Elliot, who plays Syed Masood in the BBC One soap, has revealed he has been subjected to homophobic abuse for the recent storyline that saw his character embark on a gay affair with neighbour Christian Clarke [John Partridge]. The storyline has been somewhat controversial because it features a married Muslin falling in love with another man and some sections of the Muslin community have been unhappy with the it. Marc Elliot has now revealed that the storyline has seen him receive some verbal abuse. 

 

“Since playing Syed I have really got it in the neck when I’m out. A lot of people are supportive but there is still a huge amount of negativity. I haven’t been threatened but there’s a lot of cat-calling in the street. Any insult, I’ve had it thrown at me. It’s an incredibly important part. In so many cultures being gay is still something swept under the carpet” – Marc Elliot quoted in The Sun

 

The storyline, through its various stages, has also prompted complaints to the BBC from a gay kiss shared between Christian and Syed to a homophobic rant by Zeinab Masood [Nina Wadia] that viewers felt went unchallenged by other characters. More recently when Christian was subjected to vicious homophobic attack viewers complained to the BBC about the possibility of it sparking copy-cat attacks.