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Entertainment
Grace Morris

Emmerdale star Bhasker Patel looks unrecognisable in new role after soap exit

Bhasker Patel as Emmerdale's Rishi

Former Emmerdale star Bhasker Patel looks unrecognisable as he shared a behind-the-scenes image of his new role following his heartbreaking soap exit.

Bhasker played the much-loved Rishi Sharma for 12 years, until his character tragically died in a shock twist last month.

As he prepared to go to his son Jai Sharma's (Chris Bisson) wedding to Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), a devastating cliffhanger showed Rishi lying dead at the bottom of the stairs.

It has since been confirmed that Rishi's sudden passing happened after an accidental fall down the stairs.

While fans are still recovering from Rishi's unexpected death, it looks like we won't have to wait long until Bhasker is back on our screens as he posted a picture with the cast and crew of his new project Leviathan.

Bhasker looked worlds away from his former soap alter-ego as he donned a long, grey beard for the snap and captioned the image: "That’s a WRAP on #leviathancycle... finally said bye to Nemo #character & reunited with Ding Ling 👍🏽 #thatsallfolks."

Leviathan is a ten-part film cycle that has been made over several years with "a wide range of marine biologists, oceanographers, political scientists, neurologists and trauma specialists."

Their website revealed: "Leviathan envisages a future very much like our present to consider possible links between borders, mental health and marine welfare. Each episode is taken from the point of view of a different character and their journey."

Rishi Sharma tragically died after an accident at his home. (Image credit: ITV)

Rishi's heartbreaking death came as part of a huge revelation for the Sharma family as Jai was finally told the truth about who his real father is on his wedding day.

Rishi dropped the bombshell that his brother is Jai's biological father, but despite his initial anger, Jai allowed Rishi and his mum Georgia Sharma (Lin Blakely) to attend his wedding.

However, Rishi never made it to the ceremony as the tragic accident had occurred, revealing that Jai would never get to make amends with his dad amid their ongoing rift about his adoption.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30 pm on ITV, with a hour-long episode on Thursdays — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on ITVX.

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