The Walking Dead season 7: Fans commend introduction of what is probably series' first Muslim character

The series reasserted itself as the most diverse scripted drama on television

The Walking Dead can easily take the medal of being the TV show containing the most diverse range of characters - and the latest episode proved no exception featuring the introduction of a brand new hijab-wearing character named Nabila (Nadine Marissa).

It's hard to know for certain what Nabila's religion is without the character explicitly stating it, however, it's probable that the character is the US drama's first Muslim-American to have appeared in the series thus far.

The character appeared twice in the episode sharing her screen time with King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) at the Kingdom.

Fans expressed their happiness over Nabila's inclusion via social media.

Showrunner Scott Gimple, who also wrote the episode, told Yahoo! TV: “I hope we haven’t seen the last of [Nabila]. I loved what she did. She’s very much emblematic of the Kingdom, of this very strong, very singular spirit, and I was so thrilled with that performance. And it’s a tricky exchange there, also reacting to a tiger that’s out there.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Nabila.”

Movie Pilot reports that the character's name means “noble,” “happiness” or “honourable” in Arabic.

You can read our review of the latest episode here, as well as its five major talking points.