Coronation Street actress Bhavna Limbachia has said she feels “deeply moved” by the reaction of fans following dramatic scenes which saw her character outed as a lesbian.
Viewers have seen Limbachia’s alter ego Rana Nazir and Kate Connor (Faye Brookes) fall for each other on the ITV soap and both actresses have said they feel a huge responsibility to do justice to the story and be “a voice” for people in similar situations.
Monday night’s episodes saw Rana’s husband Zeedan (Qasim Akhtar) force her to confess her secret to her parents.
Limbachia’s performance during the emotional scenes went down a storm with fans, who have praised her “beautiful heart-rending acting” and said she “deserves all the awards”.
Rana should really listen to Imran advise of “loving who’s she is”. It’s an awesome one. I should do 😉. @itvcorrie
That’s was beautiful heart-rending acting from @BhavnaLimbachia, top props. ❤️👍❤️ #kana #Corrie
— ViGeorgi (@violetgeorgi) February 5, 2018
We saw @BhavnaLimbachia talent shine at #Corrie tonight! Truly an amazing actress, she's the one who make us feel what Rana feels and who's portraying this story in a perfect level. She deserves all the awards that will come 💕 pic.twitter.com/iobLFWeOuW
— WayL (@vabyssv) February 5, 2018
The actress responded by sharing a quote on Twitter, which said: “Be proud of who you are and not ashamed of how someone else sees you.”
Honoured and humbled to be trusted with such an important storyline. I’m deeply moved by all your kind comments 🙏🏽 Heartbreaking to know this story is someone’s truth. Let’s continue to raise awareness 🌈 @itvcorrie @nazandmatt @KNFMHBV @samaritans #corrie #rana xxx pic.twitter.com/QyMJfq1Bze
— Bhavna Limbachia (@BhavnaLimbachia) February 5, 2018
She wrote: “Honoured and humbled to be trusted with such an important storyline.
“I’m deeply moved by all your kind comments.
“Heartbreaking to know this story is someone’s truth. Let’s continue to raise awareness.”
If anyone has been affected by Rana’s story & need someone to talk to please contact @nazandmatt -hello@nazandmattfoundation.org | or Karma Nirvana – @KNFMHBV -0800 5999 247 Supporting victims of honour-based abuse, forced marriages & disownment| or @samaritans on 116123 #corrie
— Bhavna Limbachia (@BhavnaLimbachia) February 5, 2018
Viewers were also fuming with Zeedan, saying he was wrong to have “outed” his wife.
One fan said she was”disgusted” with his actions, and another said: “Anyone who’s come out knows how hard it is so watching Rana being outed to her parents before she’s ready is tough. And for anyone watching it who is struggling to come out please remember this is just a soap and hopefully this reaction is not what you’ll ever face.”
zeedan just outed rana to her homophobic parents, i knew it was coming but i'm still disgusted. #corrie
— stef (@doseofkana) February 5, 2018
Anyone who’s come out knows how hard it is so watching Rana being outed to her parents before she’s ready is tough. And for anyone watching it who is struggling to come out please remember this is just a soap and hopefully this reaction is not what you’ll ever face 🙏🏻 #Corrie
— Kirsten (@kirsten93_) February 5, 2018
All I care about right now is Zeedan is running about outing Rana to everyone! THIS IS NOT OKAY!! #Corrie
— Laura (@kana_fan18) February 5, 2018
Coronation Street continues on ITV.