Tanisha Gorey

(Asha Alahan, Coronation Street)

How is Asha feeling when she comes back from India? She seems a bit secretive…

While she was in India, she’s become fixated with lightening her skin. In India, she’s seen all the Bollywood actresses she looks up to sponsoring on these skin lightening creams; she wants to be successful and pretty like them. But ultimately, we’ll find out it’s a lot more about Asha’s lack of confidence.

Do you think it’s something that has been on her mind before she went to India?

Asha’s been struggling to get attention from boys, for parts in school plays and she thinks maybe if she changes herself then she’ll get more of that.

How has Asha got hold of these creams?

She got them while she was in India and she’s brought them home with her. It’s very easy to get hold of there, you can just walk into a shop and buy it, that’s how normalised it is. She’s seen what girls are doing, she wants to follow the crowd and it’s making her feel a bit better about herself. Her self-esteem is low and this is a way she feels she can fit in.

Why doesn’t Asha talk to her dad, Dev, about this?

She feels she can’t really because she doesn’t think he’d understand. She’s not ready to answer all the questions just yet.

How is her behaviour when she returns?

She’s very hostile with both Dev and Mary, insisting they let her do her own thing. Asha lost her mum a long time ago and Dev tries to take on both roles, and Mary does her best to step in, but for Asha they’re too far removed from what she feels she’s going through and she just wants her own freedom now she’s getting a bit older.

Mary tries to talk to Asha; does she open up to her at all?

Asha is close to Mary but there’s too much of an age gap there, she feels like more of a grandmother figure and she can’t open up to her about how she’s feeling.

How did you feel when you found out you were going to be working on this storyline?

I knew nothing about these skin lightening creams really. I’d heard it happened but I had no idea it was so common. I’ve tried to find out a lot more about the issue and now I’m really excited to try and get the message across that this is something young girls are turning to as they struggle with their self-esteem.