Posting online this week he said: “Secret is out. I’m proud to announce I will be joining Eastenders. Christmas is going to be explosive but who’s life am going to ruin?”.
The teacher-turned-comedian also posted a black and white clip on his story, panning across Albert Square.
He later said in his story: “When you tell a lie, you have to tell 10 more to cover it up. That is where I am at now.”
On Friday (September 5), he decided to come clean reposting some of the responses he received.
He posted: “Hi, everyone, I am not going to be in Eastenders.”
He added: “I went to the set and took a funny picture and it just imploded.
“Literally just went to meet the cast. It got so out of hand. My God.
“If you know me then you know I love a prank.
“Technically I ‘was’ in Eastenders.
“I felt so bad because there was so many nice comments. Thank you to everyone who has been so lovely.”
Shabaz, who is a former Rivington and Blackrod High School teacher, also pointed out that he had received some abuse from his own community.
He later joked he would be taking a short break from social media.
Following his earlier post on Easenders he was immediately congratulated by a host of media personalities including Amir Khan’s wife, Faryal Makhdoom, The Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur-Thakrar, BBC presenter Monika Plaha and presenter Nikita Kanda.
Most people were disappointed he would be joining the cast at Christmas but seemed clearly forgiving.
One said: “Gutted, mate. I was gonna start rewatching eastenders after 10 years.
Another added: “I’ve never wanted a prank to be true more than this.”