Dev Alahan

Likes to think he can charm the birds out of the trees, but Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) is more likely to ruffle feathers with his showing-off and womanising.

Marriages Sunita Parekh (divorced)

Children Shareen, Amber, Asha, Aadi (and others unnamed)

1999 Arrives to help cousin Nita Desai in corner shop. Buys the business, adding to the chain of shops he already owns.

2000 Pestered by potty ex-girlfriend Amy Goskirk, who pretends she's pregnant and spreads nasty lies about his treatment of her.

2001 Takes in frightened shop girl Sunita Parekh, who's fleeing an arranged marriage. Proposes to girlfriend Geena Gregory but cheats on her with Deirdre Barlow.

2002 Geena dumps him. Seduces Deirdre's daughter Tracy at Christmas

2003 Goes to India and returns saying he's a 'changed man'. Buys into Steve McDonald's Street Cars. Proposes to Sunita but she dumps him for Irish barman Ciaran. Dates solicitor Maya.

2004 Proposes to an increasingly erratic Maya but bonds with a now single Sunita during her cancer scare and dumps Maya to marry Sunita. Maya ruins their wedding and sets fire to his corner shops, with Dev and Sunita in one of them. Charlie Stubbs and Ciaran McCarthy rescue them.

2005 Sunita falls pregnant with twins. He sells off share in Street Cars to buy house. She discovers Dev has at least four children by three of his shop girls and is a grandfather. Sunita leaves. He gets to know daughter Amber.

2006 Becomes a dad to twins Asha and Aadi in January. Sunita moves into the house with twins. Amber moves in with Dev when her mum moves abroad.

2007 Best Man at Vernon Tomlin's wedding to Liz McDonald.

2008 Joins golf club and becomes friends with businessman Prem Mandal. Has affair with his wife, Nina. Ends relationship and falls for their daughter, Tara. Buys Jerry Morton's kebab takeaway and renames it Prima Doner.

2009 Uncle Umed comes to stay. Has one-night-stand with Lisa Dalton and lies to Tara about it. She publicly humiliates him by unveiling a huge photo of him naked, then leaves.

2010 Becomes determined to reunite family when he learns Sunita has split from her fiancee Matt. Gets back together with her. But is rocked when Aadi is hospitalised after an accident when in Claire's care.

Played by Jimmi Harkishin

Jimmi, who also goes by the name James, was born in 1965 and has enjoyed numerous TV roles, including dramas Under The Sun, Medics and Close Relations. He also popped up in acclaimed Brit flicks Bhaji On The Beach and East Is East. Read More