Tara Mandal is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', portrayed by

Ayesha Dharker Ayesha Dharker (born 16 March 1978) is a British actress, known for her appearance as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,'' and for her stage performances. Her other film roles include s ...

Creation

Her creation and casting were first announced on 22 August 2008, one month after ''Coronation Street'' was lambasted in a report by chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented '' Trevor Phillips on Sunday'', a Sunday ...

for being "too white". The report criticised the show's

tokenism Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...

in having existing Asian character

Dev Alahan Dev Alahan is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Jimmi Harkishin, the character's first appearance was broadcast on 10 November 1999. He is the ex-husband of Sunita (Shobna Gulati) and fat ...

fill the stereotypical role of shopkeeper. However, in the 14 April 2009 edition of

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

, it was reported that the character had been axed from the show and would depart screens the following month.

Storylines

Tara meets Dev at a dinner party thrown by her parents Prem (

Madhav Sharma Madhav Sharma (born 12 November 1939) is an Indian-British actor. Early life Sharma studied at the Scottish Church College in Kolkata, India and later, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London. Following the death of his m ...

) and

Nina Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq * Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

(

Harvey Virdi Harvey Virdi is a British actress of Indian descent. She trained at Academy Drama School in London. Career Her theatre credits include ''The Borrowers'' (at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and larges ...

). Several weeks later, she visits Dev's apartment to discuss business matters on her father's behalf. It is evident that there was an attraction between the pair. They are interrupted by a jealous Nina who warns Dev to stay away from her daughter. After Nina leaves, Tara tries to kiss Dev but he rejects her, leaving Tara embarrassed. Tara invites Dev to her house after asking for Prem's consent to the relationship. The two are about to share a kiss when Prem and Nina walk in. Dev is forced to end his relationship with Tara after he admits to Prem that he had been sleeping with Nina, as Prem and Dev agreed that Tara would not know of the affair. However, Tara reconciles with Dev and they resume their relationship. Tara later discovers that her ex-boyfriend had been having a fling with her mother while they were together. Further heartbreak follows when Dev's daughter

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

(

Nikki Patel Nikki Patel (born 5 July 1990) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Amber Kalirai in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2005 to 2009, then again from 2011 to 2012. Career Patel joined the cast of '' Coron ...

) exposes Dev and Nina's affair, which results in the end of their relationship. On Boxing Day 2008, Amber sets Dev and Tara up on a date in The Rovers Return Inn, Amber tells Tara she has relationship problems with

Darryl Morton Darryl Shane Morton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by former ''Grange Hill'' actor Jonathan Dixon, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 18 March 2007. Cr ...

( Jonathan Dixon) and that she wants advice, whilst telling Dev she wants a drink. Dev sells Tara the corner shop flat, as it is empty and Tara needs accommodation. She gladly accepts. Tara gives Amber a car as a belated birthday present. However, Dev is against this. Amber is offered a job by Darryl, so she can pay for driving lessons. In March 2009, Dev refits one of his shops as a new art gallery for Tara and she launches it with the name ''No Oil Painting''. Dev's uncle Umed (

Harish Patel Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...

) voices concern that Tara is taking advantage of Dev's money and even suspects her of having a fling with

Jason Grimshaw Jason Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared on screen on 25 December 2000. It was announced in October 2015 that Thomas had quit the role ...

(

Ryan Thomas Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

), who is working on the refit. Tara begins to be dismayed when it becomes apparent that there is little interest in her new venture as nobody is buying her painting. Keen to please her, Dev has Minnie Chandra (

Poppy Jhakra Poppy Jhakra (born 1984) is an English actress from West Yorkshire. She is best known for her roles in '' Waterloo Road'' and '' Coronation Street''. Jhakra has appeared in '' Holby City'', '' Waking the Dead'' and '' Doctors''. She graduated from ...

) to pose as a London art dealer who is interested in purchasing some work. Tara discovers Dev that has purchased the art after Minnie brings the art into the shop and she leaves, humiliated that Dev had made a fool of her. After her departure, Dev has a one-night stand with old flame

Lisa Dalton Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

(Ruth Alexander Rubin). To Dev's horror, Tara returns to the flat the following day to say how sorry she was, not knowing that Lisa was in the bedroom. Dev and Lisa's night of passion is revealed to Tara by Poppy Morales (

Sophiya Haque Sophiya Haque (14 June 1971 – 17 January 2013) was an English actress, singer, video jockey and dancer. She is best known for playing the role of Poppy Morales in ''Coronation Street'' between 2008 and 2009. Early life Haque was born Syeda S ...

). Tara, disgusted, plans her revenge, tricking Dev into posing naked at a photoshoot. Tara unveils to the whole of Weatherfield the nude picture of Dev with the word 'LIAR' censoring him. Dev, who planned to propose to her that same day, argues with Tara in the flat before she packs her bags and leaves. Tara attempts to apologise to Amber, whom she is very fond of, but Amber refuses to listen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandal, Tara Coronation Street characters Television characters introduced in 2008 Female characters in television Fictional Indian people