ITV Coronation Street character Dev’s standout moments as he celebrates 25 years on cobbles

It’s 25 years since Dev Alahan first strolled into Weatherfield armed with his corner shop pricing gun to sell overpriced wine and baked beans to Coronation Street residents.

It’s now hard to imagine the cobbles’ Corner Shop without him. Played by Jimmi Harkishin, 59, he’s currently the longest-running Asian character in the show’s history after his debut on November 10, 1999. Jimmi says: “I thought – if I do this for a year, I’l be really happy and really lucky. It’s grown from there. I just love it. I think to myself, ‘Is there anything I’d really like to do more than I like doing Corrie?’ The answer is, ‘No’. If there was, I’d do it.” Here, Sue Crawford takes a look at his finest moments on the cobbles…

Fireball crash horror

In one of his most dramatic plots, Dev was blown off his feet by a fireball as his car exploded after a crash. The crew got through thousands of litres of water for the episode in 2021, which was filmed at night during a supposed storm. Jimmi says: “It really took my breath away. It was jaw-dropping.”

Romance & wedding

He’s had a string of conquests, but Dev only tied the knot once – and he did it in style, dressed all in white, arriving on horseback to marry Sunita in a 2004 Hindu ceremony.

Currently dating cafe worker Bernie Winter, his former loves include Erica Holroyd (Emmerdale star Claire King), Eileen Grimshaw’s sister Julie Carp, landlady Stella Price (EastEnders star Michelle Collins) and solicitor Mad Maya Sharma, who tried to kill him. “He’s a bruised romantic,” Jimmi says.

In bed with Deirdre

Dev is the man who destroyed Deirdre Barlow’s sexy specs. Deirdre wore the same over-sized glasses for 30 years, until clumsy Dev crushed them with a box when she put them down for a second. After that she wore much smaller frames.

Adam Ant stunt

Corrie fans could not believe their eyes when Dev dressed up as Adam Ant in silver trousers and lacy shirt for the 2012 Diamond Jubilee street party. His late wife Sunita turned up as Beyonce. Jimmi is no stranger to glitz and glamour either. A big fan of Elvis Presley, he once owned a gold lamé jacket. “When I last wore it, somebody said, ‘Oh look, Miami Vice!'” he says ruefully.

Naked in the corner shop

Dev is not averse to stripping off. Jimmi says: “I’ve had to take my clothes off a few times and as you get older it gets tricky.” He posed nude for a calendar in 2021 and a huge picture of him naked was plastered on a building in 2009 by girlfriend Tara, after she found he’d cheated on her. The word liar protected his modesty.

Mary mix up

Viewers were in stitches when a horrified Dev woke up next to florist Mary Taylor after a mix-up with the booking at a spa hotel in 2016. “What an amazing night, a dream come true, I can’t wait to write a review on Tripadvisor,” gushed Mary, as the mortified shopkeeper gasped for breath.