Shobna Gulati named her on-screen ‘Coronation Street’ daughter after her real-life mum.
The 54-year-old actress portrayed Sunita Alahan from 2001 to 2013 and she was given the chance to choose the moniker for her character’s kids, Asha (Tanisha Gorey) and Aadi (Adam Hussain), and she named the former after her now-late mother, who passed away last year after suffering from dementia.
Asked if she named Asha herself, Shobna said: "That was deliberate, I was lucky enough to be gifted that opportunity to name my twins by ‘Coronation Street’.
"And since mum was such an avid fan and she had been watching it for the last 60 years, she was really pleased.
"When we were watching television during the time that I was caring for her and Asha would come on the screen, she’d go ‘Asha’ and recognise her own name and then I’d tell the story of naming my TV daughter after her. As my mum’s legacy."
Shobna didn’t realise calling her on-screen daughter Asha would be so helpful for her mum, and admitted it ended up being a "happy coincidence".
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’, she added: "And as a big fan I think it helped. I didn’t know it was going to help in such a way, but it did help.
"Mum was diagnosed in 2017. So that happy coincidence helped. It helped my mum remember. I was gifted that, and I’m really pleased about that."
The actress was left "completely heartbroken" when her mother passed away last year.
She wrote on Instagram: "Our beautiful mum passed away , a few weeks ago, peacefully in her sleep . Still processing, these days are hard . She was our lynchpin connecting us as a family . Our lives are changed and life is very different now . She did her very best and in the last 25 years I grew to know her as a person and the amazing woman that was our mum and for that circumstance and time I am truly grateful . She taught me such a lot … but not how to live without her . Completely heartbroken (sic)"