Coronation Street fans are concerned by the behaviour of Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey), teenage daughter of Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) who has been in a massive strop since returning from visiting family in India.

Ad

On Wednesday 14th August she flew into a panic when the contents of her bag fell out in front of her father and she nervously grabbed everything and ran upstairs, clearly mortified - so what is she hiding?

Speculation mounted as to the reasons behind her bolshy attitude, with theories including her being secretly pregnant.

https://twitter.com/gffcontwitch/status/1161727918135009286

https://twitter.com/CtTweets08/status/1161727816402124800

But eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted the tub of skin lightening cream she hurriedly retrieved before Dev could see. Gorey has already spoken out about her character's new storyline which is set to explore her body image issues and illegal skin-whitening products.

"While she was in India Asha became fixated with lightening her skin," she revealed. "It's very normalised over there so when she comes home she thinks she might as well do it here too. In India she's seen all the Bollywood stars she looks up to sponsoring these skin lightening creams. Asha wants to be successful and pretty like them so she thinks, 'What's wrong with it?'".

coronation street dev asha

Why is Asha using skin whitening creams?

"Ultimately we'll find out this is a lot more about Asha's low esteem," Gorey said. "She's been struggling to get attention from boys and she thinks maybe if I change myself I'll get more of that.

"She thinks Dev won't understand which is why she quickly picks up the cream out of her bag before he can see it. Asha doesn't want to get into any sort of conversation with her dad about it, she's not ready to answer all the questions yet. She becomes very hostile to Dev and Mary and wants her own freedom now she's getting older."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPBwvla3VcY

It's the biggest storyline Gorey has had thus far and marks her character coming of age, having turned 13 in January. "I'm finding out more about the issue and am excited to get the message across that this is something young girls are turning to as they struggle with their self esteem," she said.

"I've spoken a lot with the show's research team and met with a lady called Narinda Chana at Rethink Mental Illness Bristol, as well as the British Skin Foundation who look into the issue. I'm learning a lot about people's thought processes as to why they turn to skin lightening."

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbs-Pk9dtKb_EjMeA8p3rYAgEL6hnWkAA

Ad

Visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.

Authors

Johnathon HughesSoaps Writer, RadioTimes.com

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Overall rating

Ad
Ad
Ad
Create an image depicting a festive scene with elements from the top Christmas songs, such as a snowy New York for 'Fairytale of New York', a cozy home setting for 'Last Christmas', and a glamorous Christmas party for 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'. Include musical notes and festive decorations to represent the spirit of these iconic Christmas songs.

RT offer

Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

hello
An image depicting a festive scene with iconic Christmas elements such as a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with twinkling lights, snow gently falling, and perhaps a cozy fireplace in the background. The image should capture the essence of popular Christmas songs, with musical notes and lyrics subtly included in the design, representing a playlist of classic Christmas tunes.

summer

Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

More