REBECCA SARKER TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HER EMMERDALE ALTER EGO…
Gold digger?
Manpreet was first introduced as a love interest for Rishi, and early on there was an idea she would cheat on him with his son,
Jai! Originally she was meant to be a bit of a gold digger and a temptress, but I’m glad they didn’t go down that route as it gave the character more longevity.
“Also, Chris Bisson [aka Jai] and I played brother and sister in Corrie 25 years ago, so I was a bit concerned at the thought of our characters having an affair!”
Charles is Manpreet’s hero, and definitely the love of her life. They first met when she was in a very unhappy marriage with an abusive husband. People were rooting for them to get back together once they reconnected in the village, and they got their happy ending. She did turn down his recent proposal, only because it wasn’t the right circumstances, but it’s always been about Charles for her.”
True love!
Some of the hardest scenes I’ve done were during the Meena storyline.
Paige [Sandhu, aka Meena] played her so brilliantly, and when she was dragged away in court after her sentencing and shouting for Manpreet to help her, it was chilling.
“Later, Meena held Manpreet at knifepoint and admitted she had killed their father, which was pretty dark stuff! Shooting the trial scenes at Bradford Magistrates’ Court was bittersweet as I knew Paige was leaving, and we are very good friends.”
Twisted sister
Style queen!
I always insist Manpreet wears high heels – I’m quite petite, but also I think she carries herself in a certain way with how she dresses – it’s professional, high status and a bit sexy! It starts with the shoes – I put them on and immediately get into character. They tried putting Manpreet in a pair of tracksuit bottoms the other day and I was outraged – she’d never wear those!”
Change of scene?
If I could choose a dream storyline for Manpreet, I’d send her and Wendy on a nice holiday somewhere… it would be great to do that with my co-star Susan Cookson, who plays her! I don’t know where they’d go, there’d have to be some sort of reason behind it, but the cameras could follow them and see what they got up to. I’d like them to have some fun!”
Man
