We really want Ayesha to become a favourite with viewers
Ayesha Dharker the Indian Bollywood actress has now been apparently signed up to join the cast of Coronation Street.
The Sun newspaper claims that this action was taken because the soap’s bosses were forced to take action for being “too white.” Trevor Phillips, Chief of Race Equality slated soaps for only portraying Black and Asian stereotypes. Also, the report found that when minorities appear in soaps they are often inaccurately portrayed according to Black and Asian viewers.
Coronation Street has a corner-shop owner called Dev Alahan who is played by Jimmi Harkishin. This was one example of the way Asian stereotypes are still used by soaps. Characters are constantly pigeon-holed into their ‘livelyhoods’ or their ‘typical’ ways of life. Therefore, giving a narrow minded view of Asian or Black lifestyles as a whole.
Ayesha Dharker will be playing the daughter of a mother/daughter love triangle in which Dev gets caught up in, and he has the central role of this blazing new plot in the soap.
Dharker is no newbie to showbiz as the 31-year-old actress, who was born in Bombay has already flourished in a successful Bollywood career and also appeared in Doctor Who and Star Wars Episode II.
The Sun has recently revealed that Dharker will join as Tara Mandal, in October, and she will be the daughter of Dev’s partner Nina.
“We really want Ayesha to become a favourite with viewers” said an insider of the show.
It is not the first time Dev has been in a mother/daughter love triangle. Dev has had an affair with both Dierdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) and her daughter Tracy (Kate Ford) on the soap before, so he is no newcomer to mother/daughter love triangles.
Loading ...