As fans of EastEnders will know, Masood’s younger brother AJ is the joker of the Masood pack, and spends most of his time on the lookout for a good party and any way in which he can avoid acting like a grown up…

However, in an interview with Inside Soap magazine this week, Phaldut Sharma – who’s also known as Paul – who of course plays AJ, has revealed that his character could turn out to be an unlikely savior for the family when he finds the cash to pay their mortgage.

As we saw recently, AJ managed to convince Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to give him a job at The Arches as a mechanic, and though so far we’ve only seen AJ handing over the last of the Masood’s cash in exchange for a motorbike, he’s about to put in some actual hard graft to earn his keep.

Phaldut said, “AJ is such a contrast to the rest of the Masoods – he’s the clown who loves to play. I love all his larking about…

“But while he’s definitely the family rebel and is a lot of fun to be around, he’s also doing what he can to help out with the money problems.”

He added, “AJ is a little bit of a hippy, and the word ‘job’ isn’t really in his vocabulary – he’s got a real wheeler-dealer, Del Boy aspect to his character.

“But when the going gets tough, AJ will step in to help his loved ones – and while he will probably never take the conventional route, he’ll always get something sorted out in the end.”

Phaldut then joked that his mum is taking all the credit for him landing a role in EastEnders.

He said, “My mum watches EastEnders religiously and has always said I should play Masood’s brother…

“I’ve worked with Nitin Ganatra, who plays Masood, on quite a few sketch shows, so mum has known him for years and always thought we’d make a great comedy duo.

“So far, exactly what she thinks should happen to AJ has happened – and now she reckons it’s all down to her!”

EastEnders of course continues tonight at 7.30pm on BBC1, and as you can see from this preview clip, not all the families in Walford are as united as the Masoods are…