Emmerdale star Chris Bisson is known to fans of the show as Jai Sharma, the role he’s played since 2009.
But Chris was already a household name when he joined Emmerdale, after a long career spanning television dramas such as Shameless, Hollywood film East is East, and Coronation Street.
And he’s even been in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list 2022 – meet them all here!
Who did Chris play in Coronation Street?
Chris played Vikram Desai in Coronation Street.
He was Dev Alahan‘s cousin, son of Ravi Desai and brother of Nita.
Who was Vikram’s sister?
Vik followed his sister Nita to Weatherfield. Nita was very ambitious and ran the corner shop for her dad. She employed Vikram as a sales assistant, though the pair often clashed.
Nita was played by Rebecca Sarker, who now plays Manpreet Sharma in Emmerdale. Manpreet is Jai Sharma’s former stepmum, meaning Chris and Rebecca have been reunited!
Rebecca and Chris are actually the same age in real life.
Vikram’s romances
Vikram had an eye for the ladies of Weatherfield, and had romances with Maria Sutherland (now Maria Connor) and Leanne Battersby.
In 2000, Vikram grew close to Candice Stowe and the pair went on a date.
But Vik discovered Candice was under age and in shock called off their romance.
Drug smuggling and debts
Vik eventually swapped the corner shop for Street Cars and got friendly with Steve McDonald.
But Vik was struggling with a secret – he was gambling and racking up huge debts.
By 2002, Vik was desperate to clear his debts and got involved in drug smuggling.
He stashed a load of drugs in Karen McDonald‘s case when she and Steve went to Tenerife on holiday.
Steve was furious when he found out and dumped the drugs into the canal. In dire straits, Vik cleared out Street Cars’ bank account and did a runner to Mumbai!
Is Chris Bisson married?
Chris is happily settled with his partner Rowena Finn. They have been together since 2006.
They have two children – son Harry, who was born in 2013, and daughter Ella Rose followed in 2016.
At the time of her arrival, Chris told Hello! it had been a little like a soap.
“Just like a scene from a film, there was this cinematic race to the hospital.
“She was born seven minutes later (after our arrival) after one puff of gas and air.”
Rowena added: “I was terrified. I really believed I was going to give birth in the car. If it had been rush hour, we wouldn’t have made it.”
Chris often shares snapshots of their family life on his Instagram account.
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Read more: Emmerdale spoilers: Jai’s dark side to return?
Where is Chris Bisson from?
Chris was born in Wythenshawe in Manchester.
He is proud of his Trinidadian heritage on his dad’s side with his social media biography proudly declaring him to be: “Moss Side Manchester Trinidad’.
Classic Coronation Street is on ITV3 every week day at 3pm and 3.30pm.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.
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