One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Weatherfield, more than a decade after she departed the ITV soap, and fans have “worked out” how
16:48, 12 Aug 2026Updated 17:13, 12 Aug 2026
Amber Kalirai has not been seen on Coronation Street since 2012(Image: ITV)
One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Coronation Street – almost 15 years on from her departure. Fans are convinced Amber Kalirai is making a comeback.
In the latest scenes on the ITV soap, Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) has decided to sell her share of the Speed Daal restaurant, leaving her colleague Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) a little surprised to say the least. Leanne’s new boyfriend Idris, who turned up as Alya’s long-lost cousin before hastily announcing he was in fact her long-lost uncle, seems determined to get his hands on it.
But now, fans have claimed that they would like to see Amber Kalirai, the daughter of shopkeeper Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), make a comeback and snap up the business for herself.
One fan wrote on X:”Totally random Amber Devs daughter should be the new speed daal owner,” and the idea quickly spread across social media.
Taking to Facebook, one fan said: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the new co owner of speed daal was Devs daughter Amber,” and another said: “Be good to see her back, she is never mentioned.”
A third wrote: “Great little actress. I would love to see her back in Corrie!” and a fourth said: “Loved her-underrated character-stood up to Dev.” A fifth simply demanded: “Bring Amber back!”
Amber was played by actress Nikki Patel, 36, who made her debut on Coronation Street in 2005 and stayed with the programme for four years.
In the summer of 2011, Amber made a comeback and stayed for just under a year, bowing out in March 2012. During her final few months on the cobbles, Amber made friends with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) and Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), who fell for her in what was a case of unrequited love.
In the end, though, unable to mend her already-tricky relationship with stepmother Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati), she got a job in London and has not been seen since.
When Sunita was killed off after being trapped in the fire at the Rovers Return in 2013, Amber was informed but was unable to attend the funeral as she was travelling with her new boyfriend.
Away from Coronation Street, Nikki has appeared in Waterloo Road, Holy City and Call The Midwife but has also performed in numerous plays, and, earlier this year, announced that she had written a new BBC sitcom titled The Patels, which, if commissioned, will focus on two Gurajti women who must put their difference aside for the sake of their sons.
Speaking to Female Pilot Club, she explained: “There are some heavy issues that they’re talking about but they do it in such an accessible, beautiful way, with a normalised family, which could be difficult. And that’s kind of presented in a dramatic setting.
“I just want to be part of a conversation with that community, potentially help people, [because] there are families going through this right now now where the kids are afraid to be and show who they really are.
“And I think it’s so sad and it’s crazy to me … so I kind of want to be part of a change. Maybe that’s really big wishful thinking. But like I said, comedy is a way to try and do that.”
The Inside Soap Awards are back and they have announced a major change to this years’ event to mark the 30th anniversary
The Inside Soap Awards are back!(Image: PA)
The Inside Soap Awards are back – and are making the move up North for the first time ever.
This year’s event will take place in Manchester and will be the only soap awards ceremony held this year.
Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks will all go head to head whilst Australian soap Home and Away has also been nominated as well as dramas like Casualty and Waterloo Road.
Up for nomination this year is the epic Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover episode – Corriedale – as well as Nigel’s sad death in EastEnders, amongst other dramatic and heartbreaking scenes.
“The Inside Soap Awards are still going strong after 30 years, and we’re proud to be championing all the wonderful work the soaps produce day in, day out. Our readers are just as passionate and loyal now as they were back in 1996, with over 90,000 of them voting each year – and the Inside Soap Awards remain the only accolades of their kind to be voted for entirely by the true experts, the soap fans themselves,” Inside Soap magazine editor Sarah Ellis said.
To mark the awards’ 30th anniversary, there will be their very own Hall of Fame and the first inductee will be announced during the ceremony. She added: “The soap star who receives this prestigious accolade will be someone who’s been closely associated with the Inside Soap Awards since they began in 1996.
“In addition, fans will also be able to nominate their Soap Superstar of 2026, a person they feel has gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to providing entertainment.”
Voting opens midday on Tuesday 30 June, and the winners will be revealed in Manchester in September.
The full list of nominations are as follows:
Best Actress
Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster, Coronation Street )
Vicky Myers (Lisa Connor-Swain, Coronation Street )
ADAM Thomas has revealed that he was ROBBED in a local corner shop by the owner.
The actor, who appeared on the latest I’m A Celebrity All Stars, explained that he was charged £100 for a couple of bags of sweets.
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Adam Thomas revealed the shock moment he was ROBBED in local supermarketCredit: At Home With The Thomas BrosThe actor said the owner of the shop charged him £100 for a few bags of sweetsCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Adam was left stunned when he confronted the shopkeeper, who told him he didn’t think the soap star “needed the money” after his latest stint on the ITV jungle show, where he received a sizeable fee for his appearance.
The Emmerdale star said he spotted the error on the card reader after he had already paid for it.
Speaking on At Home with the Thomas Bros podcast, Adam said: “I got robbed the other day!’
“Listen right, so I went to my local off-licence, I was buying some sweets for the kids, and I went to pay for it, and I paid for it, and then I looked at the card machine, and it said £100, and I was like ”bro what are you doing?”
Adam had a tough time in the jungle after he admitted he felt ‘bullied’ by some campmatesCredit: Shutterstock EditorialThe Waterloo Road star said he had finally moved on from his I’m A Celeb feud dramaCredit: ITV
He went: ”Come on you don’t need it!” and I was like ‘what do you mean I don’t need it?’”
Adam went on to say that the owner told him: ”You’ve just come off the jungle man, you don’t need it’.”
He continued: “I looked him dead in the eyes, and don’t get me wrong I had a banter with this guy, we have a little bit of a laugh back and forth and everything. I was just a bit caught off guard.
“That’s what I think, he’s getting his money back. But I was like ‘bro you can’t do that’.
‘He said ‘oh come on man, you don’t need, I need some money, I need some.’
“I said ‘I listen, I like you and everything, but don’t take the p**s out of me’.”
The Waterloo Road star revealed that the owner finally paid him back and apologised for it.
“Weeks passed and everything, and I sort of forgot about it, and I was walking through my village again, and I went in there, and he was like ‘bro where have you been? You’ve not been back, I’ve been wanting to give you the money, come in, come in, come in,’ and he was so apologetic.
“Like counting the money out, and he was giving it to me, and he was like, ‘I’m so sorry, like I was just doing it as a joke. I didn’t really mean to offend you or anything like that.”
“And I felt really bad, and at one point I was gonna go ‘you know what, keep the money, it’s not about the money.”
“And anyway, he gave me my money back, and then I ended up giving him the bacon roll, and the croissant.”
Last month, Adam said he had finally moved on from his I’m A Celeb feud drama, saying “a weight has been lifted” from his shoulders.
On a recent episode of their podcast, Adam’s brother Scott noted: “Ever since all this jungle stuff, you’ve become a proper man, mate, you’ve got a different presence. You’ve god a new strength, mate, about you.
“Even the way you talk, everything.”
Admitting he agreed, Adam responded: “I don’t know, I feel like, for months, I just feel like there was a big dark cloud over me.
“It was for a while until after the final. And then, literally, about a week and a half after the final, I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s gone’.”
As Scott, Adam and brother Ryan continued to discuss the tough time, the jungle winner admitted he was finally feeling back to his best.
“I just feel like a big weight has been lifted.
“Even when I did the podcast when I first came out, it was straight after as well so I was resenting it a lot, I was angry a lot, I was sad.
“But now I can see the light between the trees a little bit. I just feel like, you know what? It was what it was, it was meant to be, that was my journey and I feel like a better man for it.”
Following the chaotic I’m A Celeb live final, which saw boxer David and former footballer Jimmy stand against Adam, the actor broke down on tears on his podcast with Ryan and Scott.
At the time, he said: “I’m just tired, I want it all to go away and just be forgotten about.
“The sad truth is that everyone will go on with their lives but for me, this will be in for me the rest of my life”.
