Rishi's Emmerdale fate sealed: Is the character dead?

The drama surrounding Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson)’s real father in Emmerdale reached a dramatic peak on Thursday night when Rishi (Bhasker Patel), who has turned out not to be his real dad, was seen lying unresponsive at the foot of his stairs in a shock twist.

Scenes aired recently saw Jai make the life-changing discovery that he was not the biological son of Rishi but had been adopted– setting the scene for a showdown with Rishi and a rift widening between the two.

Viewers saw what had happened to Rishi after he failed to show up for Jai and Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy)’s wedding, with more drama to come on Friday night as the storyline unfolds.

With his fate hanging in the balance is the character dead, and is Bhasker Patel bidding farewell to the soap?

Here’s what you need to know…

Is Rishi dead in Emmerdale?

Sadly, Rishi is indeed dead – with Bhasker Patel bowing out of the soap after a 12-year stint playing the character.

“Thanks for watching Rishi over the years. I feel privileged to have been part of the show for 12 years,’ the actor said.

‘I have loved it and will miss it enormously, especially my friends and working in the beautiful village of Emmerdale. Thank you for watching. Stay safe.’

Thursday night’s episode saw Jai hoping that Rishi would make it to his wedding, in spite of his discovery – which was made worse for him by knowing that Rishi had kept all of it a secret from him for so many years.

As he confronted his father with what he’d discovered he initially met a wall of silence as Rishi refused to talk about it, before eventually telling him that his mum, Georgia (Lin Blakley), had been pregnant when they met.

Jai’s biological father hadn’t been in the picture, and Rishi was happy to take the baby on and bring him up as his own son when he and Georgia married.

Laurel was keen for the pair to make amends and urged Jai to invite Rishi to the wedding – but while he seemed initially reluctant to do so, Chris Bisson has admitted the character’s disappointment when he didn’t show up.

‘Jai was extremely disappointed his father did not come to his wedding.  Prior to the wedding they had had a significant run in but by the time the wedding went ahead Jai was hopeful his dad would attend,’ he explained.

‘In the church Jai kept turning around to see if his dad was going to turn up. And at the wedding reception he kept looking at the door to see if his dad was going to walk in.

‘The whole thing was making Jai anxious and he realised he just needed to get on and enjoy the day – as the day was about Laurel. But he was really disappointed that Rishi wasn’t there.’

The scene has now been set for Jai to be devastated when he finds out the reason behind Rishi’s no-show.

‘Of course he’s going to be very very upset on discovering his father.

‘Not just the sadness of losing his dad but the circumstances.  Because they hadn’t had a chance to resolve things. 

Although it’s not just Jai who will be feeling the loss, with Bisson admitting how much he is missing Patel’s presence during filming.

’12 years is a long time,’ he said of the actor’s exit.

‘And over the years we’ve had some great stories and have had a lot of fun too. Bhasker and I got on really well personally so that makes a big difference and the loss even greater – we all miss him in the building. 

Emmerdale continues on Friday night on ITV at 7.30pm.

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