Coronation Street's Alya Nazir was dealt a bombshell truth on Tuesday night's episode. The lawyer, who works as a lawyer but is normally seen with her laptop in Speed Daal rather than an office, was dealt with a surprise a few months ago when Idris Nazir turned up out of the blue.
Alya's Real Relationship Revealed
She quickly introduced him to Leanne Battersby, with whom she owns half of the Indian restaurant, as her cousin and the two hit it off. Whilst Alya initially struggled to accept Leanne's relationship with Idris, the dodgy landlord had another shock in store for her on the latest instalment of the world's longest-running TV soap.
Alya, who has been played by Sair Khan since 2014, had been on her own on the street after her grandma Yasmeen left to take up a new life in London just over a year ago. Her brother Zeedan left Weatherfield a few years ago, and their father Kal, who was previously engaged to Leanne, was killed in 2015 when he became trapped in a fire started by Tracy Barlow.
Idris Delivers the News
On Tuesday night's episode, Idris sat down with Alya as he prepared to deliver another bombshell. He said: "It turns out Sharif seduced his brother's wife while Papa was barely in the ground. I'm not your cousin, cuz. I'm your harami uncle." Alya was left open-mouthed at the news, and Leanne suddenly interrupted to find out what it was all about.
He then explained that his mum left the truth in a letter, and Yasmeen, who appeared on the soap for more than a decade, never mentioned anything because she was sworn to secrecy. An emotional Alya rushed off to try to make contact with her gran, but she was on holiday.
As the news sunk in for Leanne that she has begun a relationship with her late fiancé's half-brother, Idris simply said: "Well, Alya needed to know her gran's been keeping secrets from her." Idris then expressed his hopes that if Alya falls out with Yasmeen, she might be inclined to sell her share of the restaurant to him, a prospect that delighted Leanne.
Fan Reactions to the Twist
Reacting to the twist, one fan took to Reddit to say: "Complete Nazir family story retcon in one boxed off scene to try and make Idris more relevant, Plus didn't Leanne sleep with both Connor brothers? The baldwin affair? Or have the writers not googled that before checking the script."
Another said: "So, so sick of these relative twists. I'm not your this, I'm you're that. Corrie is using the plot device far too often now and it's just a bit boring and embarrassing. I think all the other soaps have secretly been jealous for years that EastEnders made the real impact on that one with 'You ain't my muvva.' I miss the days when a new character was introduced as a friend and then made their mark on the street, rather than rocking up as some relative who had never been mentioned before."
Taking to X, a third wrote: "Did anyone else think that Idris reveal was really odd? It felt like a big bomb & was to Alya but what is it to us? It was shot like a big reveal but it's irrelevant to the audience (for now)."
Past Family Revelations
The idea of family revelations and twists is nothing new in the world of soap, but in recent years, writers of the soap have favoured the plot device more and more. In 2018, Tyrone Dobbs learned that Jackie was not his real mother and it was in fact Cassie Plummer, who arrived in 2023. Just recently, his long-lost dad turned up and looks set to play a part in Cassie's exit storyline but, earlier this year, Shona Ramsey's long-lost sister Jodie arrived as part of the programme's crossover with Emmerdale.
Around the same time that Carl Webster discovered that Debbie Webster was not his sister but was in fact his long-lost mother. Also this year, Steve McDonald learned that he had a half-brother in newcomer Ben Driscoll when it was revealed that his father Jim McDonald had had an affair with Maggie, who arrived to take over the Rovers.
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
