Charlie De Melo has revealed Imran Habeeb’s past could put his "fostering plans in jeopardy".
The ‘Coronation Street’ actor – who has been on the cobbles since 2017 – has opened up about his character’s ongoing storyline with Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor), and there will be some bumps in the road for the happy couple.
Discussing scenes showing Imran’s fostering assessment, he told Inside Soap magazine: "He’s blindsided by questions about his own family.
"If you recall, Imran’s parents essentially tried to kidnap his sister Rana and ship her to Pakistan because of her relationship with Kate Connor, and the fostering board bring this up.
"Imran doesn’t respond well to the line of questioning, and he’s unable to maintain a cool head – he loses it a bit, and feels that he’s put his and Toyah’s fostering plans in jeopardy."
There are other complications, as Toyah’s sister Leanne (Jane Danson) is faced with losing her own son Oliver.
Charlie revealed the plot "felt like a natural progression" when he first read the script.
He said: "The first I heard about this storyline was when I opened the script!
"It’s not an unusual way to find out about your plots, but it was a bit of a surprise.
"Given Toyah’s history with wanting to be a mother so badly, it felt like a natural progression, especially as she and Imran have been together for a couple of years now.
"It’s certainly my most happy and successful relationship!"
Meanwhile, soap bosses are looking ahead to the upcoming 60th anniversary episodes later this year.
In December, ITV soap will celebrate six decades on air and the channel’s director of television admitted the team are "hoping and praying" they will be able to film the special episodes in October with no backup in place after the cast and crew recently returned to set.
Speaking to Media Mole at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Kevin Lygo quipped: "’Coronation Street’ is obviously way above any kind of pandemic and everything will be fine.
"No [contingency] – let’s just hope and pray that we can make it.
"They’re doing such a good job of filming now, it’s still on air, so hopefully there will be ways of filming even if there is another surge."