Jimmi Harkishin is regarded as one of Coronation Street's most famous figures.
The 58-year-old soap star has played Dev Alahan on the Cobbles for almost 25 years. The actor's iconic portrayal has taken Dev through some of the programme's most explosive storylines, including a turbulent romance with Deidre Barlow.
Dev continues to be a major character and was recently concerned for his son, Aadi, when he started an affair with Stephanie Davis' character, Courtney Vance. That storyline has seemingly reached an end but Dev's daughter, Asha, is now going through her relationship woes with Nina Lucas.
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Asha is played by Tanisha Gorey, who has played Dev's daughter since 2009. She has previously heaped praise on her onscreen dad as she said: "He’s always there for advice. A hundred percent, he’s like a father figure to me. He’ll sit down and talk with me and make time for me, if I need it."
Away from the screen, Jimmi's has two children with ex-partner Susan Beaton, who he had been with since 1991, but it is understood they are no longer together.
The actor was born in Paris with the name Rajan Harkishindas to an Indian father and Italian mother. His acting career got underway in 1986 and he has appeared in the BBC soap Casualty, as well as Jonathan Creek and the film East is East.
Dev arrived on Weatherfield in 1999 and Jimmi revealed on an episode of Catchphrase that there was a surprise change made to the character when he landed the role. He said: "When I got the breakdown of the character, it said he was born and brought up in Birmingham."
Jimmi showcased his Brummie accent before he revealed why show bosses eventually changed the character's origins. He said: "I can do it but it's not sexy."
Jimmi has been a near constant on the Cobbles ever since, aside from two well-publicised breaks.
Back in 2004, Jimmi temporarily exited the cobbles when was granted indefinite leave to sort out "problems" in his private life. A spokesperson for Granada said: "Both Granada and Jimmi recognise he has some problems that he needs to sort out.
"He will be taking a break from the show while he seeks help to deal with these issues. This is with the full support of the Company, Coronation Street and his colleagues."
Jimmi had already filmed five weeks' worth of scenes in advance and storylines were re-written to explain his absence. The soap actor was forced to take another break in April 2014 as he was understood to be exhausted from the busy filming schedule.
Show officials confirmed the actor was planning to take the time off after making a formal request with producers, but insisted he would definitely return. A Corrie spokesperson said: "It was agreed way in advance, and other actors who have been on the show a long time have done the same thing from time to time and taken a sabbatical."
Jimmi has been an everpresent in the mainstay in the show ever since and his importance to Corrie is showing no signs of slowing down and he has previously spoken about why he has no plans of leaving the soap. He told Mirror Online: "I just love it. I’m an actor and I get to act every week.
"Coronation Street is just this brilliant, brilliant programme, to work for. It feels like home and I never forget how fortunate I am to do something I love. I think to myself, ‘Is there anything I’d really like to go out there and do more than I like doing Corrie?’ The answer to that is, ‘No’. If there was, I’d do it."
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