ALYA’S MOMENT OF MADNESS!

Corrie’s Sair Khan on the drunken fling that’s set to shock The Street

After a year on Coronation Street, Alya Nazir has become known as the grounded member of her Muslim family – but that’s about to change. Following her father Kal’s death in a fire, the griefstricken Alya will turn into a twotiming drunk who loses her virginity to her boyfriend’s best friend!

‘Alya’s mother passed away two years ago, so the loss of her dad is life- changing,’ says Sair Khan, the actress who plays her. ‘It will send her off the rails and she’ll lose the ability to make rational decisions.’

Since Kal died in a gas explosion as he helped rescue Amy Barlow from Carla Connor’s burning flat in May, Alya has struggled with her emotions. It gets a whole lot worse this week when Alya returns too early to her job as trainee factory manager at Underworld, her grandfather Sharif falls ill and she discovers her late father’s favourite leather jacket.

Reeling from this triple whammy, previously teetotal Alya heads to the Rovers planning to ‘forget everything’, but is stopped by her boyfriend Gary Windass. Alya blows her top, and when she spots Jason Grimshaw heading back to his flat with some beer, she invites herself along and they end up in bed. ‘It’s the worst decision she can make, especially as Alya was a virgin, and sex before marriage is forbidden in her religion,’ says Sair. ‘It’s a moment of madness, and she instantly regrets it.’

Alya’s guilt is compounded when Gary later apologises – and proposes. ‘Knowing what she’s done, that’s too much for Alya, and she says no,’ adds Sair. ‘He later asks again, by which point she’s seen the error of her ways, and says yes. She’ll then try to keep it under wraps. But, being a soap, it will come out – and Gary’s temper means it’s sure to be explosive.’

Life’s been a blast since Sair, a former receptionist from Leeds, joined Corrie as part of the show’s first Muslim family last June. Her only other TV work had been a small appearance in BBC1 daytime soap Doctors. Says Sair, 27, ‘I feel lucky just to have been given the chance to play Alya, let alone get this storyline. I hope I do it justice.’

Sair, who is from a Pakistani family but is not a practising Muslim, says she’s proud to be breaking new ground. ‘It’s good to see TV reflecting society. The beauty of Corrie is its mix of cultural backgrounds, and adding the Nazirs can only be a good thing.’

Corrie insiders say big things are in the pipeline for Sair and Qasim Akhtar, who plays her on- screen brother Zeedan. ‘To think the bosses see us as big characters is a huge thing,’ beams Sair. ‘I did a scene in the Rovers with actors who’ve been here for decades, and it’s amazing we could be mentioned in the same breath.’

Sair, who is single, says she’d be delighted to stay in Corrie for the foreseeable future. ‘If the storylines remain this good it would be silly to leave,’ she says. ‘I won’t lie – it’s full on. But I’m so happy to be here.’