Emmerdale’s Rishi Sharma actor looks unrecognisable as he reunites with former co-star for new show
FORMER Emmerdale actor Bhasker Patel, who played Rishi Sharma, looks unrecognisable in recent snaps, where he reunited with one of his co-stars.
The 68-year-old star – who appeared on the ITV soap for 12 years- was killed off the show last year in a grisly storyline.
Since his exit from Emmerdale, Bhasker has grown a long grey beard – the total opposite of Rishi’s clean-shaven look – and posed for a snap with co-star Liam Fox, who played Dan Spence from 2011 until 2023.
Liam, who will be starring in the upcoming theatre production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Grandpa Potts, admitted that while he was in London for rehearsals, Bhasker was “looking after” him.
Alongside a picture of the pair together in good spirits, the 53-year-old wrote: “First day of rehearsals for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Tour tomorrow, being looked after in London for the duration by my mucka Bhasker Patel.
He continued: “Can’t wait to start and catch up with Jenny Gayner, the pigeon lady! Exciting times ahead,” followed by a row of heart emojis.
Emmerdale fans were delighted to see the pair together again and flooded his comments section with sweet messages as one said: “Love the picture of you both and good luck for the tour. Can’t wait for you to return to Emmerdale as Dan.”
Another added: “Wow, that is a brilliant and terrific photo of you and Bhasker Patel there mate. Nice.”
A third penned: “Break a leg, mate!”
Bhasker posted the same picture of him and Liam and captioned it: “Dan of @emmerdale @ITV @ITVofficial has found a hiding place,” accompanied by various hashtags and emojis.
Similarly, fans showed the star love as one wrote: “Wow, that is a brilliant and smashing photo of you and Liam Fox there, buddy.
“You and Liam Fox really are both absolute Emmerdale legends.”
Another followed it with, “Ahhhhhhhh Dan, miss you both,” while a third simply commented, “Fantastic photo.”
In July 2023, Bhasker left fans devastated when it was confirmed that he would be leaving the soap after more than a decade on screens.
His character Rishi was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his home in emotional scenes, and it was believed that he had slipped and fallen and died.
However, as time went by, it was revealed his brother Amit Sharma (Anil Goutam) was at Holdgate Farm when he died, which led to a lot of speculation now surrounding his character.
In intense scenes, his son Jai (Chris Bisson) found him the following day, and unfortunately, the injuries he sustained were fatal.
Jai and Suni Sharma (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana) became suspicious upon learning this, yet Amit managed to convince them he had nothing to do with Rishi’s death.
Suspicions about Amit are beginning to grow, with Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) sharing his fears that Amit murdered Rishi.