New family for new factory

[Perdita]

THREE big name soap stars are joining Emmerdale playing a family who run a new factory.

Ex-Corrie heart-throb Chris Bisson (Vikram Desai in the soap) will play ladies' man Jai. Torchwood heart-throb Rik Makaren will be his brother Nikhil while Hollyoaks In The City beauty Effie Woods will play younger sister Priya.

They will make their debut on the ITV1 soap in September.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/2545697/Star-trio-make-Emmerdale-debut.html

[Perdita]

Former Coronation Street actor Chris Bisson is to head up a new trio of entrepreneurial siblings in Emmerdale.

Jai, Nikhil and Priya Sharma - played by Bisson, Torchwood's Rik Makarem and Hollyoaks: In The City's Effie Woods respectively - are to take the helm managing the new local confectionary factory.

Speaking of his new role, Bisson said: "Jai is a bit of a charmer and has an eye for the ladies but he's also a hard worker with a good business mind. I'm delighted to be joining Emmerdale at a time when the show is going from strength to strength. I can't wait to get started."

Makarem commented: "Nikhil is a fiercely ambitious and determined individual, but having lived in the shadow of his brother in the past, he has an indomitable spirit and drive to make the factory a success. He's very quick-witted and extremely protective of his younger sister. I'm really looking forward to filming my first scenes later this month."

Woods added: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining Emmerdale. Priya is fun-loving and fancy-free and I think she'll be giving her brothers a few headaches in the future! She's going to be a lot of fun to play."

The show's series producer Gavin Blyth said of the castings: "The Sharmas are a young, contemporary family independent of their parents and will bring the factory into the heart of the village community. They will add real vitality to life in Emmerdale."

They began filming in Leeds today for their first episodes scheduled to air in September.

The three new additions are the latest in the line of signings by Blyth as the show continues in its period of reinvention.

Emmerdale supervixen Emma Atkins returns to filming in the coming weeks as Charity Tate, while Siân Reeves recently agreed to a six-month guest spot as Ashley Thomas's (John Middleton) old flame Sally Spode.

Other additions have included James Sutton (Ryan Lamb), UK soap's first blind actress Kitty McGeever (Lizzie Lakely), Kim Thomson (Faye Lamb) and the soap's new farming dynasty the Bartons.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a166312/three-more-added-to-emmerdale-cast.html

[lizann]

I dont think its need any new cast

[Perdita]

I think it is good, bringing in new faces, just what Emmerdale needs. I think Emmerdale has improved a lot recently with bringing in new people and of course, bringing back previous characters :)

[Hannelene]

It is nice to see new faces in the show I hope that they will be in it for a little while

[tammyy2j]

Former Coronation Street actor Chris Bisson makes his return to soapland under a different guise, almost seven years to the day since he left Weatherfield's Vikram Desai behind. Next week, Chris turns up in Emmerdale as Jai Sharma - one part of the show's three-member family unit. Along with his brother Nikhil (Rik Makarem) and sister Priya (Effie Woods), the trio open a sweet factory called Sharma and Sharma. So, what's it been like switching soaps? Why return to soapland? And would he come back to Corrie for its 50th anniversary? We gave Chris a call to find out.

How are you settling in?
"Good, thanks! Nice gentle start, not too overloaded with scenes although I've got two big days in the new factory coming up. The set's great - there's an office on one side, a tea room and locker room on the other side and a conveyor belt that comes out in the middle, and all the workers have to sit there picking sweets off it. We haven't actually tested it yet so we have no idea how fast the sweets are going to come down and how fast we're going to have to work - we'll find all that out tomorrow!"

How did the part come about?
"It came about in a really nice way, actually. I'd worked with the current producer Gavin [Blyth] previously, when I was on Coronation Street and he phoned me up one day, out of the blue, and said would you consider coming back to soap world? I said that I would actually, it's been quite a while - six years - so he said, 'We're starting to talk about a new family in Emmerdale so if you're interested, I'll keep you in the loop about it'. It kind of progressed organically from there."

What made you decide to do soap again?
"I missed it! I obviously spent a long time where I was doing dramas and one-offs and comedy and that sort of thing, and just quite fancied a new challenge to be honest with you. Emmerdale's a great show - it's really on the up and becoming stronger and stronger. There were conversations about returning to Corrie but it would have been going over old ground, Emmerdale was a much newer and fresher challenge."

How does it feel to be a part of a show that's reinventing itself?
"It's great to be part of a new show. You've got new characters coming in, new actors - a lot of really talented, experienced actors - and a great team of directors and writers as well. Gavin's pulled his best team around him and it really shows in the scripts. They're really well-written and crafted. When you first start on a show, you're not sure what your script's going to be like or if your character's well-defined, and our new family have been from the start."

What can you tell us about the new family?
"We take over Pollard's factory and we're making sweets - I'm not sure what the brand is yet but the factory is called Sharma and Sharma. I'm about to go and do my first scene on the factory floor today where they've got the boxes and sweets set up, so I've nicked one of the sweets and eaten it already but I haven't actually - I took one back for my girlfriend! She asked me to nick her a sweet off the set! I was like, 'I'm not allowed to do it, you know that', so I had to surreptitiously sneak one into my costume pocket and then transfer it - I didn't want to get in trouble on my first day. They're very nice, actually!"

Tell us a bit about your character?
"Jai is a very relaxed character, quite fun-loving, a bit of an eye for the ladies which will maybe land him in trouble from time to time, but he's got a nice character - he's not a Dirty Den or a womaniser. He does flirt with some of the ladies in the show but he gets told they've got partners and backs off. The first girl he comes into contact with is Leyla - she gives him short shrift. He says, 'I might meet you in the pub for a drink later', and she says, 'Yeah, well you might and I might be with my boyfriend', so he's put back there straightaway. He goes out for dinner with Faye, apparently - I haven't read that script yet so it's still a rumour as far as I'm concerned, but it came from a very good source - and he has a bit of a flirtation with Nicola in a couple of scenes in the Woolpack which Jimmy is none too pleased about."

Is he different to your previous character Vik on Coronation Street?
"He's not really like Vik at all. Vik was a chancer, constantly tripping up and making mistakes, getting himself into bother - Jai's not like that. He's a more considered character, more fun-loving - a lot more easygoing than Vikram was."

Does working on Emmerdale mean that you couldn't go back to Corrie for its 50th anniversary if you were asked?
"I have no idea - that would be a decision for the network centre. If ITV wanted me to be back in Corrie for the 50th, I doubt that would happen because then I would be in two shows at the same time and they need to be mutually exclusive. People might get confused!"

Ex-Coronation Street star Chris Bisson goes all rural on us next week when he switches Weatherfield for Emmerdale, taking on the role of sweet factory boss Jai Sharma.

Like me, you're probably unsure how to say his character's first name. I attempted 'J-eye' while chatting to Chris, but he promptly corrected my incompetence - it's actually pronounced 'Jay'.

Formalities over, I went on to an extremely pleasant interview about how he's settled into village life, his character and his new screen co-stars Rik Makarem and Effie Woods. The fruits of my chat with Chris can be found here.

How does Jai get on with his siblings?
"He gets on really well with them. His little sister [Priya] he looks after and adores and she can do no wrong. His brother Nikhil is the heir apparent to the family empire. He's running the business and Jai is there to help as far as he's concerned. The backstory being that Jai had left the family business and set up a chain of mobile phone shops, sold them at the top of the market, and now has a load of money.

"Mum and dad have now gone away and Jai is kind of babysitting Nikhil running the family empire. Obviously, that's a point of conflict straightaway because Nikhil sees him as having money and no responsibility, but interfering in the running of the factory. Nikhil's a straight guy - he's very considered - whereas Jai will take chances, he's a bit of a maverick, he can talk people round, he can get the best out of people and that's irritating for Nikhil because he's not at all like his big brother."

Have you gelled well as a family unit?
"Absolutely - we've played quite a few scenes together now which have been really great, actually. I met Rik [Makarem] who plays Nikhil and Effie [Woods] who plays Priya when we were doing the screen tests for them, so I'd played scenes with them before they arrived at Emmerdale. It's a great family unit - great banter and the characters are very clearly defined so they work well together."

The families start off on quite a slow burn, don't they?
"Well, we take over the factory so we're in the mix and employing some of the locals, so we're here instantly but the big waves and the big storylines don't come immediately. The smaller stories like getting to know the Dingles and the Pollards of this world - there's quite a lot of nice comedy - well not comedy - but nice funny scenes, obviously it doesn't go slapstick on Emmerdale! There's definitely big stuff to come but the opening few months is setting up the characters and getting them into the village, working out who their friends and foes are. Then the writers can have a really clear look and the actors have had a chance to get hold of the characters properly - that's the point when we can really drive the big storylines."

Are you looking forward to Emma Atkins returning as Charity?
"Yes - Emma returning will be great. I've never worked with her before but she was in the year below me at university at Salford so I do know Emma. I knew quite a few of the other actors as well because it's quite a small world, the acting world. We all meet up at awards and there's a very friendly rivalry between the soaps. We're all mates off screen but we talk it up in interviews to get the headlines and column inches!"

[Hannelene]

I want to see how they will fit in. Will they only be there for a few months? Or could they become regular faces?

[tammyy2j]

Emmerdale newcomer Rik Makarem has revealed that he wants a long-term future with the soap.

The 27-year-old actor will make his debut as Nikhil Sharma on the ITV1 show this Friday.

Nikhil's first storyline sees him opening a sweet factory with his brother Jai (Chris Bisson) and sister Priya (Effie Woods), who are also new arrivals in the village.

Discussing his hopes for the trio, Makarem told the Glasgow Sunday Mail: "I'm contracted until the new year but I am hoping the Sharmas are here to stay. It would be great if they became permanent fixtures."

The star also admitted that he was stunned to be offered the part after growing up as a fan of the Yorkshire-based drama.

"When I got the call I couldn't speak and my mum thought something awful had happened," he explained. "When I told her I was going to be in Emmerdale, she started jumping around the living room. My whole family grew up watching the action in the Dales and I can't quite believe I'm now going to be part of it.

"Playing a ladies' man will not be hard as the Emmerdale girls are all stunning. Edna Birch better watch out."

Makarem has previously appeared in Torchwood and recently filmed an episode of ITV1's Foyle's War.