Time to SHINE!

TV Times chats to the four young actors taking centre stage in soapland this summer

- ALISON SLADE

CORONATION STREET TANISHA GOREY PLAYS ASHA ALAHAN

Talented Tanisha Gorey put herself firmly on the soap map in 2019 in an impactful storyline that saw her Coronation Street character Asha Alahan use skin-lightening cream in a bid to boost her low self-esteem.

Now, six years on, the actor is about to have her biggest moment yet: carrying a special episode that explores Asha’s life as a paramedic on the NHS front line.

‘It’s essentially a day in the life of Asha,’ says Tanisha, 23, who took over the role in 2009. ‘Everyone in the NHS is so overworked, and Asha and her colleagues just want a minute or two to have a cup of tea in peace.’

But a quick brew, it transpires, isn’t going to be enough to help get struggling Asha through the day.

‘I imagine that, at first, the audience will think it is just the job, because the stress and pressure is unbelievable,’ explains Tanisha. ‘But we delve that little bit further and it becomes apparent that something poignant has happened to Asha. There’s a domino effect. Something big has sent this young student paramedic over the edge.’

In addition to Asha’s work woes, there’s trauma on the home front as twin brother Aadi leaves Weatherfield, following actor Adam Hussain’s decision to bow out of the ITV1 soap after five years.

‘There’s been lots of typical sibling bickering between them, but we really see the love they have for each other during Aadi’s exit storyline,’ shares Tanisha. ‘There is a beautiful scene where we see her on her own in the dark. She feels almost like half a person without him…’

EMMERDALE FRED KETTLE PLAYS DYLAN PENDERS

Fred Kettle proved a huge hit with