BBC soap EastEnders is set to introduce its first lesbian Muslim character in a groundbreaking new storyline.
Irqa Ahmed, who is played by Priya Davdra and has appeared on screens since February, is reportedly set to come out later this summer.
Fans of the BBC soap have noticed the restaurant owner being mysterious about her text messages in the last few weeks, and it will soon emerge that she has been exchanging romantic messages with multiple women, The Sun reports.
A source told the publication: “Iqra has been fighting to keep her sexuality quiet, but eventually the truth will emerge.”
Adam Bateman (Stephen Rahman-Hughes) has already spotted a text on Iqra’s mobile and attempted to blackmail her.
Iqra was introduced on the show earlier this year as the niece of Masoon Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), who was involved in another high-profile LGBTQ storyline when his son Syed (Marc Elliott) famously fell in love with Christian Clarke (John Partridge) nearly 10 years ago.
The news comes as new boss Kate Oates – who joined from rival soap Coronation Street – revealed that she had plans for a new precinct in Walford.
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Her plans for Albert Square’s evolution included a gay bar, which she said would become the hub for several key stories.
Speaking to fans in a Twitter video in January, Oates said: “I am really interested in bringing some more LGBTQ characters in, and maybe we will have a new precinct for them as well.
“We are looking at opening a gay bar on the square which will be a super-cool precinct where gay and straight characters can all just hang out.
“Loads of stories can cross and should just be something really exciting, really fun, really visual and feel really true to multicultural London.”
In 1987, EastEnders became the first UK soap to feature a gay kiss when Colin Russell kissed Barry Clark on the forehead. Since then, there have been several gay relationships to prominently feature in the soap including Christian Clarke and Syed Masood and Ben Mitchell and Paul Coker.
EastEnders continues on Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
