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Sunita Alahan
Sunita Alahan (also Parekh) was a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Shobna Gulati. They made their first screen appearance on 23 March 2001 and remained in the show until 2006, when the character was axed from the serial by producer Tony Wood. In 2009, Sunita returned to Coronation Street as a full-time character, reintroduced by producer Kim Crowther. In November 2012, Gulati announced that they had quit the soap once more, this time permanently. Sunita died on 3 April 2013 as she succumbed to the injuries she sustained during the Rovers Return fire, caused by her illicit ex-lover Karl Munro (John Michie).
Sunita's storylines saw her escape an arranged marriage, diagnosed with an aneurysm and a brain tumour, falsely imprisoned, held hostage, falling pregnant with twins, becoming a single parent after divorcing her husband, surviving a tram crash, embarking on an affair with Karl, becoming trapped in a fire at The Rovers Return Inn and later dying in hospital of a cardiac arrest after her breathing tube was removed by Karl.
On 12 February 2001, it was announced that Coronation Street would introduce a new Asian character named Sunita Parekh as part of an arranged marriage storyline. It was revealed that former Dinnerladies actress Shobna Gulati would portray Sunita and appear in the show from March. Sunita was given an immediate link to established character Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) as she was an employee at his shop in Swinton. After the announcement of the character, the storyline caused criticism among the press for reinforcing negative racial stereotypes. A Coronation Street spokeswoman, Alison Sinclair, defended the portrayal of the new character, commenting: "The arranged marriage storyline is just a device for pulling viewers in. We researched various storylines with the Asian community and this gives us dramatically best way forward. But then we move on from that." Sinclair also said that the show had been criticised in the past for not tackling issues of concern to the characters from the minority ethnic communities portrayed. Defending the storyline, Gulati added: "It's very brave to explore an issue a lot of people consider to be untrendy but it's prevalent and part of our culture." Despite the criticism, writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who has sat on a parliamentary committee investigating forced marriages in Asian communities, believed such issues should be tackled on screen. She stated: "I think these stories should be on a lot more but Coronation Street should have a whole range of characters. Most people who are running soaps are so narrow-minded, the only time they think of black characters is for stereotypical roles." She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 March 2001, although her voice only was heard on 21 March 2001.[citation needed]
In 2004, Sunita was part of a storyline in which she discovers she is suffering from a brain tumour and aneurysm. The story was reported in tabloids prior to airing, with the storyline showing Sunita convincing herself she was suffering from migraines rather than getting herself checked out. Which she later found out was life-threatening.
In September 2005, the Daily Mirror reported that Sunita could be axed along with nine other cast members as part of plans to reduce cast numbers. On 20 September 2005, it was confirmed that the character had been axed, alongside Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) and Jessie Jackson (Nailah Cumberbatch). Speaking of the axings, producer Tony Wood said, "Shobna and Vicky are superb actresses who have proved extremely popular during their time on the show. However it is the nature of soap that characters come and go and the writing team and I felt that these characters had run their course for the time being." Gulati said she was looking forward to a "great exit storyline" and it was confirmed that Sunita would not be killed off, leaving the door open for a possible return. Sunita departed on-screen on 1 February 2006. In April 2006, it was reported by the press that Gulati would return to the show, however it was revealed by a Coronation Street source that Sunita would only be mentioned in forthcoming scripts and would not be returning.
In May 2009, it was reported by The Sun that Gulati would make a "dramatic return" to the show. A spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Talks have been going on, but nothing has been signed and sealed." On 16 May 2009, it was confirmed that Gulati would be reprising the role of Sunita. Discussing their comeback, Gulati commented: "They didn't kill Sunita off - she went to live in her parents' house in Swinton with her and Dev's twins. Sunita's a heartwarming character and I'd like to see her come back as a mature woman - she has brought up two kids on her own and she's not a girl anymore." Coronation Street producer Kim Crowther first hinted at a possible return for Sunita in an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy in the previous week. She said: "We have a great new direction for Dev after Tara [Mandal]'s (Ayesha Dharker) exit. Further down the line, we build more family around Dev again and it might signal the return of some old faces…" The character returned on-screen on 10 December 2009, drawing 7.79 million viewers and 34.2% of the total TV viewing audience.
In January 2012, Gulati hinted that there will be changes for Sunita in the coming weeks. It was later reported that Sunita will embark on an affair with Karl Munro (John Michie) . Speaking to the Daily Star, the executive producer of the show, Phil Collinson, said that Sunita catches Karl's eye and it makes it more exciting as Sunita is the last person viewers would expect to have an affair and hinted that "all hell breaks loose" when Karl's partner Stella Price (Michelle Collins) discovers the affair. In an interview with Digital Spy, Michie said that the main reason that Karl is attracted to Sunita is that because he is a "serial flirt". Michie also said that it's great working with Gulati and is a very easy person to work with as they get on well.
Sunita is in a highly emotional state, so she comes onto Karl. It doesn't go very far before they pull away, but then Karl starts to regret the fact that it hasn't gone further! You'll see that Karl ends up feeling a bit confused, and that's really the beginning of the relationship that is coming up between him and Sunita. At the start, though, it's a case of Sunita and Karl getting their signals mixed up. Karl is thinking of Stella as well, so it's quite a strange and confusing situation.
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Sunita Alahan
Sunita Alahan (also Parekh) was a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Shobna Gulati. They made their first screen appearance on 23 March 2001 and remained in the show until 2006, when the character was axed from the serial by producer Tony Wood. In 2009, Sunita returned to Coronation Street as a full-time character, reintroduced by producer Kim Crowther. In November 2012, Gulati announced that they had quit the soap once more, this time permanently. Sunita died on 3 April 2013 as she succumbed to the injuries she sustained during the Rovers Return fire, caused by her illicit ex-lover Karl Munro (John Michie).
Sunita's storylines saw her escape an arranged marriage, diagnosed with an aneurysm and a brain tumour, falsely imprisoned, held hostage, falling pregnant with twins, becoming a single parent after divorcing her husband, surviving a tram crash, embarking on an affair with Karl, becoming trapped in a fire at The Rovers Return Inn and later dying in hospital of a cardiac arrest after her breathing tube was removed by Karl.
On 12 February 2001, it was announced that Coronation Street would introduce a new Asian character named Sunita Parekh as part of an arranged marriage storyline. It was revealed that former Dinnerladies actress Shobna Gulati would portray Sunita and appear in the show from March. Sunita was given an immediate link to established character Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) as she was an employee at his shop in Swinton. After the announcement of the character, the storyline caused criticism among the press for reinforcing negative racial stereotypes. A Coronation Street spokeswoman, Alison Sinclair, defended the portrayal of the new character, commenting: "The arranged marriage storyline is just a device for pulling viewers in. We researched various storylines with the Asian community and this gives us dramatically best way forward. But then we move on from that." Sinclair also said that the show had been criticised in the past for not tackling issues of concern to the characters from the minority ethnic communities portrayed. Defending the storyline, Gulati added: "It's very brave to explore an issue a lot of people consider to be untrendy but it's prevalent and part of our culture." Despite the criticism, writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who has sat on a parliamentary committee investigating forced marriages in Asian communities, believed such issues should be tackled on screen. She stated: "I think these stories should be on a lot more but Coronation Street should have a whole range of characters. Most people who are running soaps are so narrow-minded, the only time they think of black characters is for stereotypical roles." She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 March 2001, although her voice only was heard on 21 March 2001.[citation needed]
In 2004, Sunita was part of a storyline in which she discovers she is suffering from a brain tumour and aneurysm. The story was reported in tabloids prior to airing, with the storyline showing Sunita convincing herself she was suffering from migraines rather than getting herself checked out. Which she later found out was life-threatening.
In September 2005, the Daily Mirror reported that Sunita could be axed along with nine other cast members as part of plans to reduce cast numbers. On 20 September 2005, it was confirmed that the character had been axed, alongside Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) and Jessie Jackson (Nailah Cumberbatch). Speaking of the axings, producer Tony Wood said, "Shobna and Vicky are superb actresses who have proved extremely popular during their time on the show. However it is the nature of soap that characters come and go and the writing team and I felt that these characters had run their course for the time being." Gulati said she was looking forward to a "great exit storyline" and it was confirmed that Sunita would not be killed off, leaving the door open for a possible return. Sunita departed on-screen on 1 February 2006. In April 2006, it was reported by the press that Gulati would return to the show, however it was revealed by a Coronation Street source that Sunita would only be mentioned in forthcoming scripts and would not be returning.
In May 2009, it was reported by The Sun that Gulati would make a "dramatic return" to the show. A spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Talks have been going on, but nothing has been signed and sealed." On 16 May 2009, it was confirmed that Gulati would be reprising the role of Sunita. Discussing their comeback, Gulati commented: "They didn't kill Sunita off - she went to live in her parents' house in Swinton with her and Dev's twins. Sunita's a heartwarming character and I'd like to see her come back as a mature woman - she has brought up two kids on her own and she's not a girl anymore." Coronation Street producer Kim Crowther first hinted at a possible return for Sunita in an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy in the previous week. She said: "We have a great new direction for Dev after Tara [Mandal]'s (Ayesha Dharker) exit. Further down the line, we build more family around Dev again and it might signal the return of some old faces…" The character returned on-screen on 10 December 2009, drawing 7.79 million viewers and 34.2% of the total TV viewing audience.
In January 2012, Gulati hinted that there will be changes for Sunita in the coming weeks. It was later reported that Sunita will embark on an affair with Karl Munro (John Michie) . Speaking to the Daily Star, the executive producer of the show, Phil Collinson, said that Sunita catches Karl's eye and it makes it more exciting as Sunita is the last person viewers would expect to have an affair and hinted that "all hell breaks loose" when Karl's partner Stella Price (Michelle Collins) discovers the affair. In an interview with Digital Spy, Michie said that the main reason that Karl is attracted to Sunita is that because he is a "serial flirt". Michie also said that it's great working with Gulati and is a very easy person to work with as they get on well.
Sunita is in a highly emotional state, so she comes onto Karl. It doesn't go very far before they pull away, but then Karl starts to regret the fact that it hasn't gone further! You'll see that Karl ends up feeling a bit confused, and that's really the beginning of the relationship that is coming up between him and Sunita. At the start, though, it's a case of Sunita and Karl getting their signals mixed up. Karl is thinking of Stella as well, so it's quite a strange and confusing situation.