All hell breaks loose in Emmerdale when Kirin gets involved in Jai's drug-taking, Adam Fielding tells Soaplife...
It’s easy to forget that Kirin Kotecha is only 18, given that he has dated a woman twice his age, unknowingly fathered a child and is now a hotshot entrepreneur. But the lad shows he can still be as easily led as the next teenager when he gets caught up in Jai Sharma’s dark world of drugs.
“At first, Kirin says ‘no’ to the drugs,’ says Adam. “But then he swings - and is in danger of making the wrong choices.”
What does Kirin think of Jai?
“He doesn’t respect him at all. He’s the reason that Vanessa [Michelle Hardwick] went into premature labour and he doesn’t want to be around him, which is hard because they work in the same place.”
How does Kirin feel when Priya (Fiona Wade) asks him to keep an eye on Jai?
“He agrees to, grudgingly, but when he realises Jai [Chris Bisson] is meddling with drugs, he doesn’t want to be part of it.”
So Kirin’s not tempted to take cocaine?
“Jai offers him some and, at first, he wants nothing to do with it; he tells Jai it’s a mug’s game. But that all changes when he sees Jai become this confident God of a person, who’s nailing each meeting with buyers.”
Then things turn nasty…
“They do. Kirin and Jai [high on drugs] go out to celebrate after Kirin makes a successful pitch and, suddenly, Jai has this episode where blood is coming out of his nose. Kirin doesn’t know what to do. He calls an ambulance but, of course, he can’t give his name, as there are drugs involved.”
And the police get involved. What happens?
“Priya reports Jai to the police. They stop Jai in his car and he tells Kirin he’ll pay him to take the rap for the bag of cocaine he has on him. Kirin is stunned. Jai wants him to put his whole future in jeopardy for a bit of cash. But, on the other hand, he has invested a lot in the cordial business and some money would give it the opportunity to grow.”
How will Kirin react if he finds out that he is Johnny’s dad?
“Oh man, I’ve been asking myself this for a while… He will feel betrayed, deep grief and pain. He has already lost a big part of Johnny’s upbringing - with a premature baby, those weeks are crucial. Plus, Kirin is a loose cannon, he’s young and explosive, so who knows? He might never be able to forgive his dad. If you saw this on Sky News, you’d think it was crazy!”
Emmerdale, ITV.
