Sunita Parekh Alahan to return

[Perdita]

Former Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati has revealed that she helped with the planning of Sunita Alahan's funeral.

The actress's alter ego gets an on-screen send-off this Friday (April 12) as friends and family gather to pay their last respects to Sunita following her untimely death.

Speaking on This Morning today (April 8), Gulati explained that she helped the show's team as they put together a traditional Hindu funeral for Sunita.

Gulati laughed: "I know it sounds bizarre, but it's just that I knew where to get the stuff from! You know, the outfits that Dev and the children are wearing, and the ritual things that you need for a funeral like that."

Sunita's final scenes aired last Wednesday (April 3) as she dramatically lost her fight for life following a visit from sinister Karl Munro in hospital.

The mum-of-two had been left seriously injured after being caught up in the Rovers Return fire, which was started by Karl.


© ITV
Sunita's funeral day in Coronation Street


In real life, Gulati bowed out from Coronation Street to pursue other projects, and is hoping to juggle acting and writing work alongside her new role as a panellist on ITV's Loose Women.

She said today: "I'm going to be 47 this year and that really made me think. I think it's time to make some new characters. I would like not to be Sunita anymore.

"I'm an actor, aren't I? I've played many parts on the stage and I've played a couple on the TV. I just want to see what else is out there for me. A bit more comedy would be lovely."

[walsh2509]

Keystone cops , what about the injuries to her head ? err we don't know how they happened .. dear lord .. she might have pulled out the ventilator herself - so you checked for finger prints on the tube to rule that out or in .. err No !

[Glen1]

This looks like another drawnout storyline, I just hope that when Karl gets his comeuppance it isn't another two minute, flawed wonder, as happened with Kirsty. We should get better endings ,have to wait long enough.

[Perdita]

Coronation Street's Dev Alahan has an epiphany next week as he realises that his late partner Sunita couldn't have been responsible for the Rovers Return fire.

Although Dev has no firm proof of Sunita's innocence, he starts to reconsider the situation and struggles to accept that she was capable of causing such destruction.

When Dev demands that the police reopen their investigation into the blaze, the real culprit Karl Munro (John Michie) is left in a panic. Can a rattled Karl convince Dev to let go of his new theory?

Here, Jimmi Harkishin - who plays Dev - reveals what's in store as his character begins to play detective.

How is Dev coping in the wake of Sunita's death?
"Dev is completely devastated. When you start to explore stories like this, you start to realise how awful it must be to lose someone you love in a fire. It's not a natural cause, and in this case it's not even an accident. At first Dev is completely numb and overwhelmed by grief. He is barely coping.

"It's heightened by the fact that there are children involved. Dev is a very moral man. His compass is definitely on track, and since he met Sunita, he's been so devoted to her and their family. He was willing to give up so much for her if only she could tell him she loved him, and she couldn't do it. I think that's on his mind, too."

Why does Dev have absolute faith in Sunita's innocence over the fire?
"The whole way through, Dev has had nagging doubts that Sunita just couldn't have done this, and I think that's amplified by his knowledge of what kind of character she is, or was. It just doesn't make sense to him.

"No matter how much Sunita has hurt him emotionally, he still knows in his heart of hearts what a gentle person she was and that just doesn't marry with the accusation that she started the fire."

Why is clearing Sunita's name so important to Dev?
"The kids are being bullied at school. They live in a very small community and other children are calling their mum a murderer and an arsonist. What is Dev supposed to say to them? He has to clear her name so that his children don't have to live with the thought that their mother may have caused this damage."

Is that why Dev demands that the case should be reopened?
"Yes. He goes to the school because Asha and Aadi are being bullied, and when he sees them he asks them outright - do they believe their mother really did this? So he's put the question out there - it's a brutal and bare moment for Dev.

"At that point, Dev has a sort of epiphany, a moment of complete disbelief that Sunita had the capacity to cause all of this. So when he starts to tell people in the pub that he wants the case to be reopened, he's not being bombastic about it. He declares her innocence and presents the evidence to everyone who's there, including Karl. Dev just has an unshakeable faith in Sunita and that isn't going to go away."

Does Dev spot Karl's concern over this?
"No, because by this point, Dev is convinced that Karl has become a friend. Karl has got this bomb-proof alibi for the night of the Rovers fire, and of course he's being seen as the hero of the street for going in and saving Stella. As an actor it's quite difficult because I know the truth, but Dev doesn't!"

All of the evidence is still pointing towards Sunita. Can Dev see why she remains the main suspect?
"I don't think Dev is being naive about it - he knows that there is no hard evidence that says Sunita didn't do it. But to Dev there are still so many unanswered questions.

"The police almost assumed that it must have been Sunita and as she isn't here anymore, the case was closed. But Dev can't shake these questions that he has. It's almost as if the conclusion that has been reached by the police is a convenient answer for them, and that's what Dev hates."

Karl starts telling people that he's worried about Dev's mental state, doesn't he?
"Yes, though I think most people are worried for Dev's mental state! Quite rightly as well. Dev is totally fractured and his behaviour is obsessive and slightly erratic. But the obsession he has for finding the truth comes from severe stress.

"You'll see that Dev goes over and over the same points and the same questions, and in doing so, he alienates a lot of people. It's like he's got a bone that he just can't let go of."

Does Dev get annoyed when people think he needs to drop it?
"Well he knows that that's going on and that these things are being said to him and about him, but he just cannot be told. He's not aggressive about it, that's just the way it is for him. He has to keep going over it because he can't help himself!"

Do you think knowing the truth about Karl would help Dev get closure?
"Ultimately you never know until it's written. I just don't know at this stage what that knowledge would do to him…"

How does having Mary around affect things for Dev?
"The pairing of Dev and Mary may not look like a natural one, but it's actually an incredible relationship that really works. Dev also has Sophie, but she's almost like a daughter figure to him and is a cross-over between Dev and the children.

"But the story with Mary is so courtly and well-considered. I love that she brings structure and good intent to Dev's household."

Is Dev becoming suspicious of people on the street?
"Yes, definitely. The only person he truly listens to is Mary. She doesn't try and fob him off and he doesn't find any cynicism in her demeanour."

What has it been like to film such emotional scenes?
"Dev's been through it. His shop blew up. His wife left him for someone else, his kids were taken into care at one point. So he knows he has to pick himself up again. It's not been easy and putting myself in his shoes hasn't been enjoyable at times, but it's been challenging and I've been trying to roll with it and let it come naturally."

How have your on-screen kids Zennon and Tanisha (Aadi and Asha) been to work with?
"They are wonderful and it's been fantastic to see them develop and grow around me. They are starting to get comfortable in their skin and I get the best of them when they are here. They have had to do some really challenging stuff and have had to learn discipline."

[Perdita]

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/cor...hostly-return/

Coronation Street has hinted at a ghostly return for Sunita Alahan, a decade after her death.

The character, played by Shobna Gulati, was the former wife of Dev and mother to Aadi and Asha, and was a mainstay of the soap between 2001 and 2006.

She returned again in 2009 before being killed off in 2013 after sustaining injuries in a Rovers Return fire, with ex-lover Karl Munro removing her breathing tube in hospital.

In new scenes set to air on the soap, the Alahans hold a memorial dinner for Sunita, which Bernie and Paul attend.

During the memorial, they take a photo, and Asha notices a bubble of light floating above her in the picture, which Bernie suggests could be a human spirit. However, Dev quickly shuts down her superstitions.

Later on in the week, Aadi discovers that the picture of him and Asha has moved to face the picture of their late mother, which Bernie again suggests could be the presence of Sunita's spirit ? though Dev refuses to entertain the idea.

However, Bernie tells Paul about her theory over Sunita's restless spirit, which leaves Dev in despair. He then demands to know what Bernie is hoping to gain with her supernatural nonsense.

In other Alahan family news, Aadi is currently at the centre of an affair storyline with newcomer Courtney Vance, and star Adam Hussain recently spoke about the potential consequences of it being exposed.

"I think Aadi is certainly aware of the consequences of the affair," he told Digital Spy and other press. "He tries his best to resist the temptations of Courtney's advances, but he always falls short.

"Aadi falling for Courtney is not good, because if the fling is exposed, Dev could be financially ruined and Aadi's career prospects could be tarnished as well. Being with an older woman would be any other teen boy's fantasy. But again, when a connection develops over time, it makes it even harder for Aadi to call off this fling."

[Perdita]

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/cor...inary-journey/

Former Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati has shared their non-binary journey.

The star, who played Sunita Alahan on the ITV soap between 2001 and 2013, opened up about their identity in a new podcast chat, recalling how a conversation with a non-binary colleague changed things.

"I?ve become more happy describing myself as a person," Shobna told Kaye Adams's How to be 60 podcast (via The Mirror).

"What do people call it now? Non-binary. So, I suppose that?s who I am. I?ve never had a word for it, but I?ve learnt from our younger generation what that might look like in terms of a word, because I know what it feels like in terms of being me."

The star, who lists their pronouns as she/they on Instagram, said that they have "never managed to explain that" and their immediate family "have not really thought about it".

Explaining how a conversation with a sound engineer helped them to realise, Shobna recalled: "The sound person said to me that they were non-binary and I said, 'What is that?? So, then they explained and I thought, ?Well, I feel like that, but I didn?t ever have that vocabulary.?

The star said they now feel "free to say it out loud" and that people have accepted them for who they are for a while "without any explanation", adding: "But I suppose when I?m asked now, I?ll say it."

Shobna also spoke about feeling pressure to be feminine growing up, revealing: "My father would say things like, ?Oh you haven?t dressed up today,? or ?You haven?t washed your hair,? or ?Your hair looks limp, you can?t go out like that.? I?d say, ?Why not??

"He?d make comments along the way ? I walk like a boy. Lots of people tell me I walk like a boy and I do. I just don?t know quite where it all comes from, it?s just who I am and I?m happy in that now."