Emmerdale’s Rishi's life off screen - Hollywood roles, daughters and real age
Emmerdale’s much-loved grandfather Rishi Sharma stunned viewers earlier this week as he was found dead.
Just as his son Jai was getting married, Rishi’s body was discovered slumped at the bottom of the stairs, moments after he revealed the shocking truth that Jai's real father was in fact Rishi’s brother.
The emotional scenes aired on Thursday, and fans were left reeling following the surprising twist, but many were devastated that soap legend Bhasker Patel, who played larger-than-life Rishi for 12 years, had quit.
Discussing his exit from the long-running soap, he revealed he had no choice when producers decided to kill his character off.
Bhasker wept as he talked about his exit from Emmerdale (ITV)“So when the producer said ‘we're going to kill you off’, I was like: ‘Okay, that part of my life with this guy is over and I'm going to move on’,” a visibly emotional Bhasker explained on Lorraine.
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His life away from the soap couldn’t be different, as his character was almost 10 years older than him.
While Rishi was a 71-year-old grandfather, Bhasker is just 66, and is the proud dad of two daughters.
The Ugandan-born actor lived in several places during his childhood, including Africa and India, but he and his family - including his four sisters - moved to London when he was 17.
The actor played Rishi for 12 years (ITV)It was then he began his career in acting, and before making his debut in Emmerdale, he appeared in several Hollywood films.
He was cast as banker Marwan Al-Kirmani in Oliver Stone’s blockbuster Snowden back in 2016, which also starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the American whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Bhasker also appeared in the live-action Thunderbirds movie in 2004, where he played the much-loved Kyrano.
He’s also had brief roles in Doctor Who, Holby City and Law & Order: UK, and even appeared in Coronation Street back in 2004.
His character's shock death stunned viewersThe actor is a regular user of social media, and shares snaps of his family on Instagram, including his daughters Maya and Kiri.
Posting a photo of Maya graduating from Camberwell College of Arts, the delighted dad wrote: “So proud of our beautiful daughter Maya @mayamayjex celebrating her #graduation #ceremony @royalfestivalhall from #ualcamberwell #ual in #fineart.”
He also confessed he wept “tears of joy” when Kiri achieved a distinction in her music exams following a “tough year”.
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“So proud of you, a distinction in Music is something to be very proud of. Time for a long overdue new chapter, studying Musical Theatre. Enjoy every moment!” Bhasker sweetly shared.
The proud dad shared a photo of his daughter Maya graduating (@bhaskerpatel/Instagram)
His other daughter Kiri is set to study musical theatre (@bhaskerpatel/Instagram)The Emmerdale star has spoken fondly of his career at ITV, as producers allowed him to film other projects while still appearing on the show.
One project was a short film called SAFE, which was released earlier this year to raise awareness of male sexual assault.
Bhasker played one of three men who had experience abuse, and the film was made in partnership with SurvivorsUK in an effort to highlight “the impact that sexual violence can have on men.”
“Whenever sexual violence features in the media, and particularly in powerful films like this, it can empower people to come forward to speak out about their experiences and seek support,” Meka Beresford, from SurvivorsUK, said.
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