Patel began his acting career playing Tamwar Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. His first appearance was in the episode shown on 1 October 2007. Patel also appears as Tamwar in the 2010 spin-off series EastEnders: E20, and co-wrote an episode of EastEnders: E20 with EastEnders co-star Charlie G. Hawkins. Patel's departure from EastEnders was announced on 12 March 2016. He is currently playing the role of social worker Nitin in Channel 4 sitcom Damned. He is a member of the National Youth Theatre.