Coronation Street’s Dev Alahan has discovered the tragic news that his uncle Ravi Desai is dying.
The shopkeeper, played by Saeed Jaffrey, appeared in the ITV soap from January to August 1999 before leaving for India.
Ravi was introduced as part of Corrie’s first Asian family, arriving with son Vikram and daughter Nita, before buying the Corner Shop from Fred Elliott.
During Monday night’s episode, Dev got a phone call from his other uncle revealing that Ravi is dying.
Devastated Dev admitted it was "terrible news" as he asked how long his uncle had left to live.
He told concerned Mary: "My uncle Rav in India is dying. he's in his 80s and has been ill for a while."
Dev feared he would not be able to say goodbye to his uncle, but Mary kindly offered to look after the twins while he went to India.
Ravi, who owned a string of small shops in Weatherfield, arrived in the Street in February 1992 with his kids to run the Corner Shop.
He had a short relationship with Alma Baldwin while she was estranged from husband Mike, who called Ravi a "randy old goat".
Despite this, he disapproved of his son Vik dating Leanne Battersby while she was still married to Nick Tilsley.
Ravi decided to leave Weatherfield in October 1999 after discovering that his brother Raj had died.
He infuriated his children by selling the Corner Shop to his nephew Dev.
The sad news could not have come at a worse time as Dev is struggling to deal with his troublesome daughter Asha.
However, he may have found a helping hand in the unlikely form of Evelyn as Tyrone's gran applied to be his new assistant in the shop.
Worried Dev tried to put her off by saying she would put her back out lifting boxes and some of the customers could be tricky.
But she proved herself worthy by dealing with his misbehaving kids Asha and Aadi.
Will Dev go to India? And will he hire Evelyn?
*Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV at 7.30pm and 8.30pm
