Coronation Street’s Sair Khan tells Soaplife what happens when her dad, Kal, finds out she’s been secretly dating Gary… and it’s not good!
Just before Alya tells her family about her relationship with Gary, her dad and gran practically catch them at it! “Alya and Gary meet at number six as Gary still has a key, and have enjoyed a romantic, candle-lit fish and chip supper. They start getting very cosy - and then Kal and his mother walk in on them," Sair tells Soaplife...
What does Alya do?
“Well, as far as she’s concerned, they were going to tell them anyway. She tells her family she and Gary [Mikey North] have been seeing each other secretly and they want to be together.”
But Kal (Jimi Mistry) isn't happy, is he?
“He’s absolutely fuming. Kal sees his precious daughter with his old army mate and can’t stand it. He lashes out and hits Gary. He doesn’t consider Alya and Gary might be in love.”
What about Yasmeen (Shelley King)?
“She’s hurt and upset, but that’s more about the betrayal and lies. Alya’s her golden child and she’s disappointed in her.”
What happens next?
“Kal bans Alya from seeing Gary, taking no notice of Alya as she tries to convince her family how happy she and Gary are.”
Does Alya obey him?
“As much as she wants to be with Gary, she starts feeling broken down by family pressure and you see her beginning to surrender to them.”
But she’s an adult!
“Yes, but family is at the root of everything for her and they absolutely don’t approve of Gary. There are so many reasons why they feel this way - Gary has had a child with another woman, he has no job or career prospects, and he isn’t Muslim, which bothers her grandparents more than her dad who is, after all, with a non-Muslim himself - Leanne [Jane Danson].”
Are Alya and Gary meant to be together?
“Absolutely! But they have more problems to overcome first. Things get even worse when Kal gives Gary’s building job at the gym to Owen [Ian Puleston-Davies]… This has all kinds of repercussions over the Christmas period and we’ll see the dynamics of Alya and Gary changing again.”
Coronation Street, ITV. Click here for dates and times.
