Emmerdale star Pasha Bocarie on Rakesh and Adam's showdown - "Things go horribly wrong"

So, are you looking forward to seeing Rakesh get his comeuppance? I know we certainly are…
Well, I have had a lot of people coming up to me and saying, "I hope you’re going to tell Kirin the truth". So, in a funny way, I’ve been looking forward to dealing with this. Enough time has passed for people to want closure. And now it’s all coming together nicely.

Did you enjoy filming the scene where Rakesh gets hit by Adam?
Yes, I love stuff like that. I’d like to get more scenes of that nature – more stunts and fights. Although it is sometimes difficult to have a lawyer be involved in those kind of things!

In your own head, have you found a way to justify Rakesh's actions?
I have. He's been looking out for his family. And Rakesh has definite control issues. What he's done is completely illegal and wrong, but he set out with good intentions in terms of looking out for his son. At the time, he didn’t realise the effect his actions were going to have. But his controlling nature has now had big repercussions. It’s affecting so many people’s lives and obviously you can’t justify that.

Will this end up affecting his career as a lawyer? Might he end up struck off and forced to work on the production line at the sweet factory?!
Anything’s possible, put it that way! There are going to be massive consequences from this. And the interesting thing is seeing how Rakesh deals with it. All the secrets are coming out and the audience will be satisfied with the way it’s dealt with.

Next week, we'll see Priya walk out - is this it for the pair of them?
Well, you are going to see everything crumble around Rakesh. And that includes his relationship with Priya. There's a lot of pressure on her and inevitably this affects the two of them. But I hope they can work things through, for Rakesh's sake. It would be nice.

Might Chrissie prove to be an added complication - we've seen she and Rakesh grow a little bit close before?
They’ve obviously had their chemistry and Rakesh is a vulnerable guy at this moment in time. I can’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen, but Chrissie does get caught up in it. She does try to help Rakesh, but it backfires.

Are there any other characters who you'd like see Rakesh shading scenes with?
Yes, I’d like to see some stuff between Ross and Rakesh, plus more scenes with Cain. I think there are some great stories that could come out of Rakesh being a bit darker. He's edgy and the audience enjoy seeing that. And I’d like to bring that side out more. But I'm happy at the moment because he's involved with lots of other characters on the show.

So what can we expect to see in the aftermath of this secret finally being revealed?
Things will go horribly wrong, but there's also some nice father-and-son stuff coming up. And the audience will be moved emotionally. I think it would be good if the character found a way to redeem himself. He’s got dubious ways of acting, but he does try to help people. And it would be good for him to have that nurturing side with his grandchild.

The National Television Awards are fast approaching - do you think that Emmerdale deserves more accolades than it gets?
I definitely do. I know I’m going to be a bit biased, but the general public do say that they love Emmerdale and that it has the best storylines and acting. I don’t know if they say that to people from Coronation Street and EastEnders as well, but the general consensus is that the show is doing really well. And it should be given that recognition, definitely.

And does your own future lie with Emmerdale?
If I had a crystal ball, I’d be able to answer that question. At the moment, I’m just taking one step at a time and we’ll have to see how the future pans out. I’d certainly like to stay here. It’s a great show and I enjoy what I’m doing.

You can watch a 60-second rundown of next week's episodes of Emmerdale below.

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