'Coronation Street’ execs are getting ready to welcome unknown actress Sair Khan to the cobbles, according to the Daily Mirror.
Sair will play Jimi Mistry’s on-screen daughter Ayla and is set to join the cast following the exit of Michelle Keegan.
Sair Khan
The Mirror claims that hiring Sair is a way for ITV bosses to boost the show’s sex appeal when Michelle’s character Tina McIntyre is killed off later this year.
“Despite limited experience, Sair did brilliantly in auditions and now we just can’t wait for her and the rest of the new family to get started,” a source told the paper.
The Leeds-born actress has revealed her excitement ahead of her 'Corrie' debut, stating: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of Coronation Street.
"As a northerner, I've grown up watching the show and so can't quite believe that I'll soon be walking on the famous cobbles."
Sair’s character Alya will be part of the street’s first ever Muslim family and has been described by the source as “both intelligent and intriguing”.
“Alya is a good-looking girl who has just graduated from university and is back living with her family,” they added. “She mixes brains and beauty so you can imagine there are going to be a few of the men of Weatherfield who will be interested in her.”
Sair has undergone plenty of training for the role, attending a New York acting school in 2012, however her only previous TV appearance was in just one episode of daytime soap ‘Doctors’.