Postmistress Zainab is very direct and has a fierce manner but she has a good sense of humour hiding under her stern facade.
2007 Takes over the manager's job at Walford's post office and clashes with colleague Denise.
Nina was born in India in 1971 and she spent the early years of her life living with her parents, brother, sister and grandmother outside Mumbai. The family later moved to Hong Kong when Nina was 10 to open a restaurant.
Nina's first love was dance but she soon discovered a talent for comedy and, when she was 18, she moved to London to study drama. Nina started doing stand-up comedy routines and her big break came when she was spotted by TV producers, who signed her up to star in hit sketch show Goodness Gracious Me alongside Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
Nina has also appeared in BBC sitcoms The Vicar Of Dibley, All About Me, and C4 drama Skins, as well as feature film Bend It Like Beckham, and she has been a regular presenter on the ITV chat show Loose Women. Nina was seen on EastEnders once before, in 1994, when she had a small role as a nurse.
Nina met her French Canadian composer husband Raimond Mirza on a blind date while she was on holiday in Canada and they married in 1998. The couple had their first child at the end of 2003.
Outside of her acting work, Nina is involved in raising money for many charitable causes, including homeless charity Crisis and The British Heart Foundation.
