Dev Alahan

Dev Alahan
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Jimmi Harkishin
Duration	1999-2004, 2005-2015, 2015–
First appearance	Episode 4714 10 November 1999
Introduced by	Jane MacNaught
Spin-off appearances	"East Street" (2010) Coronation Street: Text Santa special (2015)
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Occupation	Businessman
Home	7 Coronation Street
Family Father Ranjiv Alahan Mother Urmila Alahan Wife Sunita Parekh (2004—06) Sons Aadi Alahan Daughters Shareen Amber Kalirai Asha Alahan Uncles Ravi Desai Raj Desai Sanjeet Desai Umed Alahan First cousins Vikram Desai Nita Desai Naveem Alahan

Devendra "Dev" Alahan is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Jimmi Harkishin, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 10 November 1999. He is the ex-husband of Sunita (Shobna Gulati), and father to Amber Kalirai (Nikki Patel), Aadi Alahan (Zennon Ditchett) and Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey), though Amber is not Sunita's daughter. Dev departed on 13 February 2015, after Harkishin asked for an extended break from the show, Dev returned on 1 June 2015.^[1]

Storylines

Dev as he appeared in 1999.

Amy Goskirk (Jayne Ashbourne), a former girlfriend, follows Dev to Weatherfield, claiming he had promised to marry her. He denies this, claiming she is mentally unstable so she claims to be pregnant and that she attempted suicide. When she returns to The Rovers Return with bandaged wrists, Dev exposes her lies by ripping off the bandages, revealing no cuts.

Some time later, Dev almost marries barmaid Geena Gregory (Jennifer James), but her mother is unhappy and pays Karen McDonald (Suranne Jones) to set him up so Geena will dump him. Although she forgives him for that, Geena and Dev later split and she starts dating Joe Carter (Jonathan Wrather). Dev saves shopworker Sunita Parekh (Shobna Gulati) from an arranged marriage, giving her a safe haven in the flat above the shop. Sunita develops feelings for Dev but he sees as just a friend but they later get involved. His other girlfriends include cruise ship hairdresser Debs Brownlow (Gabrielle Glaister), and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford), who wrecks his flat after discovering he has no intention of marrying her. He also sleeps with Tracy's mother, Deirdre, who he employs.

Dev later meets solicitor Maya Sharma (Sasha Behar), when on the rebound from Sunita, who chooses barman Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy) over him. He allows Maya to move in and she makes friends with Frankie Baldwin (Debra Stephenson), but gets jealous of the amount of time Dev and Sunita are spending together and forces Dev to choose. As Sunita is seriously ill, he chooses her. This enrages Maya so she smashes up his flat and frames Sunita for an illegal immigration scam so she is arrested on her and Dev's wedding day. Sunita is jailed but released when one of the illegal immigrants Maya married is arrested on another matter and identifies Maya as his "wife", pleading with her for help in front of the police. Maya is charged but released on bail and wanting revenge, she ties up Sunita and sets fire to all of Dev's shops, knocking him unconscious when he tries to rescue Sunita and leaves them to die. However, Ciaran and Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) save them.

Dev's marriage to Sunita is happy for a while, and the couple are overjoyed to discover they are having twins. Dev then sells his share of Streetcars to Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles) to buy a house for his family. However, during 2005, Sunita takes in Amber Kalirai (Nikki Patel), daughter of one of his employees as her mother is in hospital. Dev is unhappy at Amber's presence and Sunita is shocked to learn that Dev is her father, due to a brief relationship years ago. However, Sunita then learns that Dev has other children by women he employs and grandchildren too. Sunita is devastated, especially when Dev admits having very little contact with his daughters, and leaves him. She allows him to be there when she gives birth to the twins, Asha and Aadi. Dev is overjoyed (especially as Aadi is his first son), but Sunita cannot forgive him so she and the twins leave Dev and the street, moving into the house Dev bought. Dev does have regular contact with the twins.

The following February, Amber (who now knowing that Dev is her father) moves in with Dev as her mother is moving to Finland with her new boyfriend but Amber wants to stay in England. At first, Dev insists that she go with her mother, bitter about the part Amber played in his marriage breakdown, but eventually he thaws and allows her to stay permanently. On New Year's Eve 2007, Dev takes over from Bob as best man for Vernon Tomlin (Ian Reddington) at his wedding to Liz McDonald (Beverly Callard) and is later hit by Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), when Jim is attacking Vernon.

In summer 2008, Dev is upset after conversations with Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) and Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) make him realize that he is just a simple man running a chain of shops. To compensate, he takes out membership to a new golf club to make himself feel better. Dev goes for a round of golf with Vernon and by chance, they strike up a conversation with Prem Mandal (Madhav Sharma), who gives Vernon some pointers. The trio later have a drink together at the club and after Prem leaves, Dev tells Vernon that Prem is a very successful businessman who runs his own cleaning business. Dev then has an affair with Prem's wife, Nina Mandal (Harvey Virdi), (an ex-Bollywood star whom Dev once had a crush on), after going on a date with their friend, Lisa.^[2][3][4]

Dev with Prem's wife Nina.

In August 2008, Dev buys a flat in the newly finished Victoria Court and becomes increasingly unhappy with his affair with Nina when he realises that she has been cheating on Prem for years. Nina blackmails Dev by threatening to tell Prem if he tries to end it but Dev meets their daughter and found himself torn between Tara (Ayesha Dharker) and Nina. Nina does not approve of Dev's attraction to Tara but they go on several dates regardless so she threatens again to tell Prem about their affair. Dev, sick of Nina's threats, tells Prem himself, who is disgusted but Tara has taken quite a shine to him and tries to discourage her but she interprets his actions as honourable. Eventually Dev visits Prem again and asks for his permission to date Tara and asks Prem to promise that he would not tell Tara about Dev and Nina's affair. Dev asks for Tara's sake and Prem agrees but Tara tells Dev that Nina slept with her ex-boyfriend and insisted to Tara that she's paranoid and her boyfriend was not cheating on her.

In November 2008, he buys Jerry's Takeaway from Jerry Morton (Michael Starke) and renames it "Prima Doner". Amber is so angry when she discovers her father has taken away her boyfriend's home and livelihood that she tells Tara about Dev's affair with Nina. This causes her and Dev to split briefly but they reconcile, assisted by Amber. Dev's uncle, Umed Alahan (Harish Patel), arrives for a visit in March 2009 and begins helping in the corner shop.

In April 2009, barmaid Poppy Morales (Sophiya Haque) sees Dev and Tara's family friend, Lisa Dalton (Ruth Alexander Rubin) together the night Tara dumps him, following an argument about her art gallery, and she leaves. However, Poppy tells Tara that she saw Dev and Lisa together and Tara confronts Lisa about it, telling her not to visit her or Dev again. When she asks Dev what he did the night she left, he says that he stayed in, watching television so Tara plots revenge for his betrayal. She convinces Dev to let himself be photographed naked. On 11 May, in front of a huge crowd for an unveiling on urban degradation, Dev proposes to Tara but she rejects him before unveiling a huge photo of him naked with the word LIAR printed on it. Dev is humiliated and Tara leaves soon after but is horrified to realize how her revenge has humiliated Amber too. She apologizes but Amber makes it clear that she's not interested. In October 2009, Umed returns to India.

In November 2009, Dev begins taking golf lessons to try to be better than Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). However, Steve is doing the same. Dev begins charming his instructor, Bernie Sayers (Jennifer Hennessy), although he notices her strange behaviour around Steve and she admits she is also teaching him. Dev and Bernie have a brief relationship but she ends it when she realizes that he really wants Sunita and his children back, after learning that she has a new partner, Matt, and they are engaged. In January 2010, Dev is secretly pleased when Sunita tells him she has broken up with Matt. Realising that they are meant to be together, Dev and Sunita agree to give their relationship another chance and buy Maria Connor's (Samia Ghadie) house.

In December 2010, after the tram crash Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) steals money from their safe while Dev is in hospital after Sunita was injured. Later that month, Dev says whoever took the money will be on the CCTV footage of that night but discovers the camera was damaged.

In February 2011, he attends Peter and Leanne's wedding renewal and Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies) visits, looking for payment, which Dev can not afford so Owen threatens to tear the corner shop apart again if he is not paid. Dev is also confronted by Sunita as she has learnt that their savings account is empty. Dev admits that the corner shop was not insured and he has not paid the mortgage on the house either so Sunita asks to see the business accounts. She sees that all Dev's shops are in financial trouble for various reasons e.g. roadworks and competition from other shops so she suggests selling everything except the kebab shop and the corner shop. Dev breaks down as it took years to build up his empire and asks Steve to loan him £5,000, but Steve can not as he owes money to Lloyd and Owen. In November, Dev and Sunita feel further financial pressure, especially with Amber's return, as she has dropped out of University. They clash over the cost of Dev's golf when a huge bill arrives for his annual membership and gets worse when Dev takes Aadi to the club with Steve and, in discovering he is very good, convinces Sunita that Aadi should have regular lessons. Sunita agrees on condition that Dev spends the same on Amber and Asha. Sunita and Dev argue about their finances again in January when he buys Amber a car for her 21st birthday, leading Sunita (now feeling taken for granted) to have an affair with Karl Munro (John Michie) and they are eventually caught together by Karl's partner, Stella Price (Michelle Collins), and her daughters Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) and Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson). Although devastated and heartbroken by Sunita, Dev is willing to give her another chance, but she asks him to leave so he attacks Karl, trashes the shop and nearly drinks himself to death but Lloyd finds him and stops him.

In April 2013, Dev loses the love of his life Sunita after she is trapped inside a fire and Karl removes her oxygen mask and suffocates her. As a result Dev and the kids are left heartbroken with the police believing Sunita did this crime by burning down the rovers when it was really Karl who framed Sunita for the crime. In September 2013, Dev finally starts to see true colours after Karl threatens Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) while Dev is inside the house talking to Jason. The pair form a team together to uncover Karl's crimes. They gather more evidence as the days went on, then Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) runs away from home, which puts Dev under more suspicion and they question Craig in his corner shop with Jason arriving just in time. The pair force the truth out of Craig, saying that Karl committed the crimes. Now that Dev believes Craig's story of the events that Karl started the fire, Dev rushes to the altar to stop Karl from marrying Stella but it is too late as the couple are now married. Meanwhile Jason takes Craig, Beth Tinker (Lisa George) and Kirk Sutherland (Andrew Whyment) to the police station to get Karl arrested for killing Sunita and Toni Griffiths (Tara Moran), the firewoman. Dev confronts Karl at his wedding reception in the Bistro, and then follows him to The Rovers. After Karl finally admits to his crimes, Dev attacks him, only for Karl to knock him unconscious by hitting him over the head with a bottle. Dev manages to text Jason while Karl holds him and Stella hostage. When Jason arrives, Karl threatens to set fire to the pub again. Jason drags Dev out while Karl takes Stella hostage in the cellar. As the police arrive, Karl realises he has to face the consequences of his actions, and turns himself in to the police outside, which is witnessed by Dev, Jason and many other residents.

In 2014, Dev begins to develop feelings for Stella and he decides he is unfit. Gary Windass (Mikey North) hears Dev talking about this, and recommends his army friend Kal (Jimi Mistry), who has left the army and become a personal trainer. Initially, Dev declines. However, Kal visits the Rovers and Dev later agrees to let Kal help him get fit. Kal also begins training with Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), who is still suffering mentally after being involved in a car crash with his brother. On Dev's 50th birthday, he asks Stella for a drink. They both return to Dev's flat, unaware that Kal, Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles), Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and Andrea Beckett (Hayley Tamaddon) are hiding behind his sofa to surprise him. Dev tells Stella that he loves her, only for her to gently reject him, as the four behind the sofa emerge and Dev feels embarrassed.

Development

In December 2004, it was announced that Jimmi Harkishin had decided to take a break from Coronation Street following revelations about his private life. A spokesperson for Granada said Harkishin had been granted indefinite leave to sort out his "problems" and had their full support.^[5]

Relationship with Sunita Alahan

On 16 May 2009, it was confirmed that Shobna Gulati who played Dev's ex-wife Sunita Alahan would be returning to the serial.^[6] 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.^[7] 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…"^[7]

References

External links

• Dev Alahan at itv.com