AJ Ahmed

AJ Ahmed is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Phaldut Sharma. The character made his first on-screen appearance in episode 4458, which was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2012. Sharma filmed his final scenes before Christmas 2013 and the character's final episode was broadcast on 10 January 2014, being episode 4783. AJ is an extension to the established Masood family, the younger brother of established character Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra). He is disliked by Masood's wife Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), but brings out a previously unseen fun side to his brother. AJ is portrayed as a mechanic who is cheeky, fun-loving, irresponsible, annoying and spontaneous, though he makes decisions by flipping a coin. Other storylines include a feud with Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman), divorcing his wife Aliyah Ahmed (Ann Wenn) and lending support to Masood through financial problems and his breakup with Zainab. The character has received mixed comments from critics, with Laura White from Inside Soap saying he is "the perfect tonic for a family almost constantly dogged with crisis", and Anthony D. Langford from AfterElton.com praising the character but wondering if the writers knew what to do with him. Storylines After his arrival in Walford, AJ's brother Masood (Nitin Ganatra) makes sure he avoids his ex-wife Zainab (Nina Wadia), because she dislikes him. AJ proves to be a bad influence on Masood when they damage Derek Branning's (Jamie Foreman) car with a shopping trolley and AJ is punched by Derek. AJ discovers that Masood and Zainab are divorced and later tells Masood he came to Walford because his wife Aliyah (Ann Wenn) has left him. After Masood inspires AJ with his reunion with Zainab, AJ leaves to reconcile with his own wife. He returns a few weeks later saying that he and Aliyah are divorcing. Zainab contacts Aliyah to try to get her to take AJ back, and AJ says that Aliyah had an affair. Aliyah drops off AJ's belongings and reveals that there was no affair. AJ then explains that he left Aliyah because she wants children and he does not. AJ moves in with Masood and his family. Zainab dislikes his laziness and she becomes annoyed when he brings Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) back after a drunken evening. Roxy stays the night but makes it clear that it was a one-off. AJ gets a job from Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) as a mechanic to help the family with their financial problems.