Bhavna Limbachia Interview: Rana confesses to Zeedan

Kate has been away for a few weeks how has Rana been dealing with that?

Whilst Kate has been away with the distraction of what has happened to Luke Rana’s main priority has been Alya and Zeedan and making sure they are ok, particularly Alya, although she is herself feeling quite isolated and lonely but she knows she can’t share that with anyone. 

What happens when Kate returns?

When Kate arrives back on the street Rana goes to see her and is thrown by how cool and distant she is with her. She is very confused by it, she knew Kate was coming back and she sees her with Aidan in the morning then she goes round to the flat and Kate’s reaction throws Rana, she doesn’t know where she stands with her.

Do you think Rana had hoped they could pick up the friendship?

I think she did but it was a bit naive of her, she went round thinking they could still be friends which is why she is so thrown and confused when Kate is so cold with her. As far as Kate knows Rana is making a go of her marriage and anything they had together is over. 

Is Rana still determined to do the right thing and work at her marriage?

She is, she is riddled with guilt and she thinks she should do what’s right by Zeedan, so she is determined to put what happened with Kate behind her and move on. It feels like Alya and Zeedan have lost so many people in their life, with their mum and dad and with Shariff leaving so she doesn’t want to be the person that adds to that.

So what changes?

Kate reappears and all of her feelings for Kate come flooding back but she can't do anything about it so that is why she tries to encourage  Sophie to get with Kate.

How does Kate react to that?

Kate is quite hurt by it. It backfires because Kate thinks she has done it out of spite and she hasn’t she has done it to try and ensure that they can all move on, Kate included. She feels they can’t be happy together but she wants Kate to be able to be happy with someone else. Kate confronts Rana but Rana tells her that as they couldn’t be happy together she wants Kate to be happy elsewhere, it crushes Rana but she is doing it for the right reasons. Rana thinks it is the kindest thing to do but Kate thinks it is quite insensitive just moving her on to the ‘next gay in the village’ as he puts it!

Why does Rana then come to the decision that she has to come clean?

I think it is the guilt, she is ridden with guilt, seeing Zeedan trying so hard with his life, trying to build a life for them together with the business and talking about children. Seeing Kate every day she is just a complete mess and she can’t cope with the guilt anymore which is why she comes clean, even though the affair is to all intents and purpose over.

What happens and how does the confession come about?

She knows she has been so disloyal to Zeedan and he has been so supportive of her and kind and loving and it is tearing her apart knowing she still has feelings for Kate. As she starts to tell him she has feelings for someone else she knows immediately from his reaction that is as far as she can go and she can’t say anything more as he is hurting so much.

Had she planned to tell him everything? 

I don’t think she had thought it through, I don’t think she had a planned to say anything, it just happened on the spur of the moment. She just blurted it out I think she would have told him everything but she didn’t get that far.

Is she telling him thinking it will be the end of the marriage or is she just wanting to get rid of her own guilt and hopes he will forgive her?

I think it is a bit of both. She wants to get rid of the guilt and she wants to try and do the right thing. She knows how kind and loving Zeedan is and she has a false hope that they can try and work on their marriage with this out in the open. She would be absolved of the guilt. She isn’t doing it to clear the way for her and Kate as far as she is aware that is over, she just wants to move on with Zeedan with no more secret guilt. 

What about her family?

It is extremely complex. She is very worried that they might find out, she has only just won their trust and respect and now she knows that she could be completely on her own if they were to find out what. There is so much at stake for her it would have a huge ripple effect for everyone around her, she stands to lose her husband, her family, her marital family, her friends, she could be isolated. The fear of being alone is what is stopping her from telling Zeedan the whole truth because she knows that the community will just disown her and she has this fear of being alone and being disowned especially by her family as they finally respect her for who she is and has made something of her life and they would just think that she had messed up again. With Imran and his divorce she has witnessed how the family have reacted that and how disappointed they are and that is the last thing she wants for herself. 

When the family do find out is it the reaction she expected?

I don’t think she could have ever been prepared for how they react when they do find out and how disgusted they are with her for being unfaithful to Zeedan. She is also hurt because they expected her to mess up, they are not surprised, they have always seen her as a disappointment and the marriage to Zeedan is the first time they had seen her in a positive light. They were very encouraging of her marriage  and the new business and now she has messed up yet again in their eyes.

Why did they see her as a disappointment?

They have always seen her as that, the history of boyfriends she has had, the fact she has always been a bit of a party girl, the didnlt ever think she would settle down. And she had finally proved them wrong but now her mum says that they expected her to mess up which is one of the most hurtful things a parent could say. She is devastated but she knows there is nothing she can do.

How does Yasmeen react?

Yasmeen tells her that Leanne has told her about it and Rana thinks Leanne has fed her to the lions but she is quite surprised and taken aback and Yasmeen of all people is quite reasonable and supportive which completely throws Rana. She finds comfort in that reaction, naturally she is protective of her grandchild but her reaction is not the same as Rana’s parents. She tries to be fair and understand both sides of the situation.

Do you think that Rana still loves Zeedan?

She loves him but she is not in love with him. This is the first time she has fallen deeply and madly in love with someone and it happens to be a woman. She has never labelled herself as gay or as bisexual but it is the first time she has fallen for someone and that person has accepted her for who she is. She doesn’t want to hurt Zeedan she genuinely does love him but she is in too deep now.

Kana fans have been waiting for this moment, did you feel it was important for that reason that Rana came clean?

Yes we do owe it to those girls for Rana to come clean about who she is, it is a huge responsibility and it needed to come out. There are so many people who don’t feel they are able to come out and hopefully this will encourage conversations in households within every community and let some people feel able to be honest about who they are.

Do you think Kate and Rana can have a future?

It will be interesting to see how it develops once the whole story is out in the open, the reaction of Rana’s family is going to play a huge factor in whether Kate and Rana can ever be together. I hope they can, I’d love to see a Kana wedding!

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook 

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License