Coronation Street is renowned for its long-standing characters - from Ken Barlow to Rita Tanner. But over the past year, some fresh-faced stars have taken to the cobbles in some of the ITV soap's most hard-hitting storylines to date.
The longest-serving member of the Corrie 'brat pack' is Tanisha Gorey, who plays troubled teen Asha Alahan. The actress joined the show in December 2009 as Dev and Sunita Alahan's daughter.
Tanisha’s real parents run a pub in Oldham. She had never taken an acting class before she first appeared aged six. Despite that, she's successfully tackled big storylines - including issues such as skin-lightening, sexting and revenge porn.
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The 19-year-old previously explained to The Saddleworth Independent that she was a child model at the time of casting - and fit the criteria. She said: “I was asked to go for an audition and here I am still there 12 years later.
“It was never an ambition to be an actress but, after so long, I am comfortable in the role and happy to stay as long as they want me.” While she has been on the soap for over a decade, Tanisha admitted she still worries about not getting it right.
She told the Mirror last year: “I was six when they cast me and all they needed me to do was shout 'bye mum' and run up the stairs. When I got to 10 or 11 I was a bit worried whether or not I could do this thing.”
If ever she needs advice, Tanisha turns to Jimmi Harkishan, who plays Dev. She added: “He is like a father figure to me, he’s always been there. Everyone is so easy to work with.”
One of Tanisha's hard-hitting plotlines saw Asha’s boyfriend Corey screenshot images of her stripping for him during a video chat and show them round the school before putting them on the internet. In real life, the actress has been dating Manchester student Lucas Whelan since 2020.
Their relationship went public when Tanisha made them Instagram official, sharing cute snaps. Lucas said Tanisha was 'the best girlfriend anyone could ask for' . She returned the favour and said her boyfriend was 'the best thing [she] could've ever wished for'.
The sweet couple made their red carpet debut together last year, when Tanisha revealed that Lucas provided her with great support when she was recovering from stunts she had to take part in during Asha, Aadi and dad Dev's devastating car crash, reports RSVPLive.
The actress hasn't posted much to her social media account over the past year, but has shared some gorgeous selfies in recent weeks. Tanisha enjoyed a night away from the cobbles with some of her Corrie co-stars as they represented the soap at the Royal Television Society Awards a fortnight ago.
She later shared a couple of mirror selfies to her Instagram followers, where she looked sensational in a figure-hugging, brown silk dress that featured a thigh-high split. In other snaps, she is seen enjoying herself in and around Manchester, including enjoying food in the Northern Quarter and partying at Revs de Cuba.
Looking to the future, the young star hopes to emulate Michelle Keegan's career, who starred in Corrie from 2008 to 2014. Tanisha told OK! : "Michelle Keegan has gone so far. You look at people who've left soaps and a lot of them you don't see much of again, but Michelle has really made a name for herself.
She added: "I'm hoping to be there until they kick me out! At some point I'd love to be involved in some form of drama series because I can be very dramatic sometimes. I've been at 'Corrie' all my life so it would be nice to try something different."
