Coronation Street Casting News: LGBTQ+ Footballer Character To Debut In Wake Of Criticism Over Rana’s Death

Coronation Street is set to introduce a new gay character. Kai, a black rising football star, will make his first appearance in the soap in the coming months. The soap’s producers are currently casting for the role. Kai’s coming out of the closet will be the focus of his first scenes.

The news about a new LGBTQ+ character on Coronation Street comes after Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia) was killed accidentally in the Underworld roof collapse on her wedding day. The viewers of Coronation Street were devastated that Rana was killed off before the soap’s first ever gay wedding.

Rana, along with other Corrie characters, found herself buried in the rubble. Kate Connor (Faye Alicia Brookes) fought her way to get inside the factory and see Rana one last time. The couple ended up saying their vows to each other in the rubble before Rana died in her arms.

Does it look suspicious that Carla and Peter are going to Southampton? She's not even been to see Kate!

Join us on Wednesday to see what happens next… #Corrie pic.twitter.com/hynA9OFhbI

— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) March 25, 2019

Coronation Street News – Soap Faced Backlash From LGBTQ+ Community

The soap faced a backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, which asserted that what they did to Rana was a good example of the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope. The community has long criticized the tendency of TV shows and films to break LGBTQ+ couples up before they even have a happy ending, just like Lexa’s death in The 100 and Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Rana got caught up in the roof collapse by accident. Before it happened, she let herself back into the factory to get her bag using her spare keys. Some fans of Coronation Street criticized the soap for killing off Rana and accused it of baiting diverse fans.

However, the actress who played Rana, Bhavna Limbachia, felt different about her character’s exit. The soap had announced in advance that Limbachia was leaving the show.

Coronation Street News – Actress Felt Character’s Death Was A Fitting End

But what many of them didn’t know was Limbachia requested for her character to be killed off as it was “the only fitting end to the character.”

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“Kate and Rana had fought so hard to be together and they had been through thick and thin together. I believe their love was so pure as two souls that there was no way that Rana was just going to have a change of heart, hop in a cab and leave,” Limbachia told Digital Spy.

“I felt that if they were to be separated, they had to be torn apart and it couldn’t have been their decision. The only way to go was if Rana were to die. Rana would never leave Kate, ever,” she added.

Now, Corrie viewers just have to wait for Kai’s debut and hopefully, they’ll get to see him have his own happy ending.

And visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers