Romance for Rana?
There's definitely a spark between Rana and Zeedan so we asked Bhavna Limbachia whether it's more than just some cheeky flirting?
Can you tell us a bit about your character?
Rana is an old friend of Alya’s from university, she’s come to have a catch up with her friend. I’d say she’s a very confidant, sassy, ferocious character who’s very tenacious in the pursuit of anything she desires, whether it be a job or a man.
What does she think of Zeedan?
She sees him as a bit of a challenge - he’s a bit younger than her, he has this cocky air about him and I think as she gets to know him and the family she really starts to take a shine to him and admires his loyalty to his family.
How do the Nazir’s react when she cooks dinner for them?
Alya’s had quite a tough time with the whole Gary and Jason fiasco and with her dad dying so I think her grandparents are happy to have Rana around because she’s put a smile on Alya’s face again. I think Alya's quite relieved as well because Rana reminds her of her time at uni, the good old days, and I think she's grateful to have Rana there to inject a bit of happiness back into her life.
Is she trying to impress them?
Oh absolutely Rana is trying to impress them, she would manipulate any situation to get what she wants and at the moment she just wants to be in the Nazirs’ good books.
What happens between Rana and Jason? Is she trying to make Zeedan jealous, or does she genuinely like him?
Rana’s at the Bistro trying to get Zeedan’s attention, he’s playing it cool - treat them mean keep them keen, so to make Zeedan jealous she starts to flirt with Jason, not knowing the history of what happened between Jason and Alya.
So a bit of an awkward situation arises between Zeedan and Jason that Rana quite enjoys. I don’t think she has any genuine interest in Jason, she’s just having a bit of fun and enjoying the attention. Then when Zeedan shows his macho side she quite enjoys it.
Can you talk us through her kiss with Zeedan and how it comes about?
Zeedan’s had this confrontation with Jason and Alya’s explained to Rana in confidence what happened between her and Jason. So when Rana finds Zeedan on his own at work she uses the situation to go into the kitchen and have a little talk with him.
He apologises for his behaviour, she’s fine with it, then he remarks that she’s a bit full of herself. Rana is a very self assured confident character, so she kind of confronts him and says I know you fancy me, he says she’s full of herself, then she just goes for it, kisses him and smoothly walks away.
Could things be serious between them? Or is Rana likely to break Zeedan’s heart?
I think there’s a chance she could break his heart. He’s a lovely guy and she’s just enjoying the attention at the minute, enjoying the challenge, so who knows.
Were you a Corrie fans before you joined the show?
Yes I definitely was, I was a big fan of Corrie while growing up, I think being a Northerner I’ve always been able to relate to it from a young age.
I love the way the writers write for the female characters, I think they’re very strong, I love Carla Connor and Tracy Barlow, quite big strong characters. It’s why I love playing Rana, I think she’s great, she’s so much fun to play, very unapologetic and confident and I love that, it empowers women.
What was your first day on set like?
I had a scene where I had to eat sardines and I think I was more nervous about eating the sardines, because I absolutely hate them, than doing the actual scene. On one of the takes I got so carried away I took a massive bite of the sardines then I thought I’m just going to have to commit to this now and swallow it!
As soon as I arrived on set everyone was really warm and welcoming so it put me at ease straight away. It was very surreal being in the Nazirs house because I’ve seen it so much on telly.
Has anyone taken you under their wing and looked after you?
Sair and Qasim have both been really lovely and shown me around and shown me how everything works. I really get on with Connor McIntyre as well because I’ve worked with him before, we talk about art a lot because he’s a really good artist.