Ferreira family

The Ferreiras were introduced in March 2003 as the first Asian family in EastEnders since Sanjay (Deepak Verma) and Gita Kapoor (Shobu Kapoor), who both departed from the show in 1998. They were also the first large family to arrive since the Slater family's arrival in 2000. The family were the creation of writer Tony Jordan, and Bollywood star Dalip Tahil was cast by the show's executive producer, Louise Berridge, to play Dan Ferreira, the patriarch of the family. The family, from Goa in India, also consisted of Dan's three sons, Ronny (played by Ray Panthaki), Ash (Raji James) and Adi (Ameet Chana), and daughter Kareena (Pooja Shah). Ronny's friend Tariq Larousi, played by Nabil Elouahabi, also joined the show at the same time. and said that the characters were formed around the actors: "We didn't set out knowing exactly what we wanted. We workshopped constantly, trying out different improvisations with the actors and the characters evolved." It was hoped that the family would have a big impact on the other characters. On being cast in the show, Tahil admitted that he wasn't unaware of how big a part of British culture the soap was until he arrived in the United Kingdom, saying "It's going to be a big adventure." The family first appeared on screen on 3 June 2003. Later on in the year Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey was cast in EastEnders as Dan's estranged wife, Pushpa. Jaffrey commented, "I really wanted to do the role because Indian women are usually portrayed as so proper and withdrawn – the kind of women who just stay at home cooking and cleaning. I thought, 'How wonderful of EastEnders to write a character that is realistic.' What my character has done happens all the time in India; there are all kinds of stories of people running away and marrying their lovers. This is what commonly happens in those places, but somehow the image of Indian womanhood is different." Pushpa was a guest character only appearing for the duration of a storyline that revealed Dan had been lying about her death and had actually left him for another man, Pradeep (Kaleem Janjua) Dan's best friend. ==Development==

In November 2003, it emerged that actor Dalip Tahil faced being axed from the show due to not having the correct work permit. It was reported that after Tahil joined EastEnders from appearing in stage musical Bombay Dreams, neither he nor the BBC had obtained proper authorisation from the Home Office to make the switch of employment legal. The BBC issued a one-line statement, which read: "We are considering any potential problems with a view to resolving them as soon as possible." Following Tahil's departure, plots were abandoned and many scripts had to be rewritten. EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan revealed that it was intended that Dan would be murdered by his children after prolonged bullying and abuse, saying "The family arrived in Albert Square in what was expected to be a huge storyline. The father [...] was an oppressive and violent bully – eventually his children were going to kill him. It was all scripted – how they buried him in a shallow grave, how they dealt with it, and how it all exploded. And then Dalip got bloody deported. He was actually on the studio floor and they marched him off. Broken legs, nervous breakdowns – we can deal with that. But when actors are physically taken away by the government and deported, there's not much you can do. Fifty scripts had to be reworked. And because all the episodes had been written around this big storyline, we had to keep the same amount of Ferreira material." In April 2004, producers were concerned that the family were losing popularity with viewers, and a decision was made to write Pooja Shah out of the show for a while, but to bring her back with a sexier image to rival Michelle Ryan, who played Zoe Slater. Shah expressed a dislike of her character, saying "I'm fed up with it now. Kareena's too dowdy. I wanted Kareena to be different, to stand out. If I'm completely honest, I can't stand her – she just grates on my nerves. She hasn't got many friends, but then I wouldn’t be her friend if I met her." The family had failed and rumours began that the entire family would be killed off in a house fire. A further attempt to "spice up" the family was made in July 2004 by bringing back character Sasha Perkins, played by Jemma Walker, and having her move in with the Ferreiras. The show struggled to find storylines for Dan's children, and the remainder of the family, including Sasha Perkins, were dropped from the show by Hutchison in October 2004. This was claimed to be a mutual decision between the programme makers and the actors, as the characters had "run their course." They made their final on-screen appearance on 22 March 2005. ==Family tree==

Background Dan Ferreira is a fan of Elvis Presley, portrayed as a womaniser and a bully. He claims to be a widower, talking about his wife as being dead, both to the neighbours and his children, but they have merely separated after she had an affair with his best friend, whom she moved in with. Ash is portrayed as the intelligent member of the family, the standard of his education being much higher than his siblings, so much so that he is a lecturer. He has an on/off problem with gambling, something that presumably led to the breakup of his first marriage, before he is seen on screen. Kareena is in a relationship with Tariq, though it is not a sexual one. Ronny works as a DJ under the name DJ Ronny Flawless, and Tariq is his best friend and promoter. 2003–2005 The Ferreiras move to Albert Square in 2003. None of his siblings are a tissue match, so Ash, Adi and Kareena visit their mother, but her kidney is not a match either. Tariq is forced to reveal that he is Dan's son, and he donates his kidney to Ronny. He explains that he thought having a mildly romantic relationship with his half sister would bring him closer to the family. Adi dislikes the fact he and Tariq are half brothers, but mellows towards him eventually. When bailiffs arrive to evict the family from their home, they board themselves into their living room, but eventually admit defeat and move into a flat with Sasha, starting a minicab firm called Toucan Cars. Kareena begins dating Mickey Miller (Joe Swash), but problems arise between them when Juley Smith (Joseph Kpobie) gives Kareena cocaine and she is seduced by him, though she manages to sort out her differences with Mickey eventually. Adi also has relationship problems after Sasha cheats on him with hothead gangster Danny Moon (Jake Maskall), leading to the couple's split. Later on, the whole family gets into trouble with Danny's employer Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) - also the square's reigning gangland boss - after the latter agrees to loan several cars to the Ferreiras' business. However, three of the vehicles end up getting stolen. Johnny quickly discovers this and orders the family to either leave Walford immediately or face repercussions. Kareena initially opts to remain in Walford with Mickey, but at the last minute she changes her mind and departs with the rest of her family in March 2005. ==Reception==

Tahil's casting was considered to be controversial, and was slammed by British Asian actors who said the part should have been given to a UK actor, referring to it as "disgraceful". Actors Albert Moses and Renu Setna complained that home-grown talent was being overlooked, with Moses saying, "British Asian actors have been fighting for the last five years to persuade the BBC to bring an Asian family into EastEnders and when at last it happens it goes to Bollywood. It is a disgrace and an insult to British Asian actors. This is a terrible thing for the BBC to do. It should be ashamed." A spokesperson for the BBC responded: "After due consideration, Dalip was deemed to be the most appropriate actor for the job." and they were cited as one of the main reasons viewing figures for the show dropped to a low of 6.2 million. Fans called for the family to be axed, and an editorial on the Daily Mirror stated: "The Ferreiras' father, Dan, was probably not just the worst character in soap, but the most annoying, unlikeable person on all television. Inveterate gambler, Ash and daughter Kareena are mere ciphers while Adi is just weird – like a gay version of a character from Rainbow. Ronny Ferreira, meanwhile, [...] presided over the most boring storyline in EastEnders' history when viewers spent several weeks watching him lying in bed growing a beard (i.e. waiting for a kidney transplant). The fact that the Ferreiras still haven't been axed shows how indecisive and complacent the show's executives have become." However, a poll on radio station BBC Asian Network found that 75% of respondents wanted the family to stay. A female PR manager told the survey: "Just how many shades of brown can there be in one family? You can't put them in any context. They have no background," Following the axing of the family, actor Ameet Chana accused the BBC of discriminating against the family, saying, "I'm not afraid to admit that the Ferreira family have been treated like [shit]. We've been made scapegoats, discriminated against. They wouldn't do this to the Watts or Slater family. [...] The Ferreira family have had bad storylines and we've taken the blame for it." The family's Goan origin was also criticised by Samir Shah, a member of the BBC's board of directors, citing it as an example of "inauthentic representation" of ethnic minority communities. He said, "If you were to cast an Asian family in the East End, it should have been Bangladeshi. Instead we had a family of Goan descent." A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission claimed that the Ferreiras were an example of stereotyping in the media. ==References==