Himesh Patel says soap star perception 'is changing'

Himesh Patel thinks the perception of soap stars in show business is "changing".

The \'EastEnders\' actor believes it is a "step in the right direction" that an actor "like [him]", who portrayed Tamwar Masood on the BBC One show for nine years, can make the leap from Albert Square to leading the cast of Danny Boyle-directed movie \'Yesterday\'.

He said: "There\'s friends of mine who have been doing really great work since leaving soaps. It\'s something that I think has been changing.

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"I\'m glad that, you know, someone like me, who did nine years on a soap, can now go on and do something like this. That\'s kind of a step in the right direction, I think."

Himesh is unsure whether his part in \'Yesterday\' - which sees him play a musician who, after an accident, is the only person who remembers who The Beatles are - will be "scrutinised more" because of starting out his career in soaps.

He added to Digital Spy: "I didn\'t feel it when I was working on [\'Yesterday\']. And, you know, whether it means that I\'m scrutinised more when it does come out, obviously I don\'t know. I don\'t know whether to expect that or not.

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"But the fact that I\'m even in this position is a step that I don\'t think has happened. Well, it\'s been happening slowly."

Himesh\'s comments come after \'EastEnders\' star Rob Kazinsky - who made a brief return to the show as Sean Slater in May - called for a Twitter user to "stop looking down" on soap operas.

In response to a social media user who said they felt "sad" that he "had to go back to working in soaps", he replied: "This perspective is one of the reasons I wanted to. Took one day of working with Gillian Wright to be reminded that some of the biggest talent I ever worked with was on this show. It\'s privilege to be on something this special, even if just for a moment. Stop looking down on it.

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"I have five movies coming out this year that I\'m very excited about, and I\'m very excited to be working back at my first love too. I hope people can see that there\'s really no difference. People look down their noses at these things and I\'m trying to show that you don\'t have to."