Jai has been through so much (Picture: ITV)
You had to feel sorry for Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) in Monday (August 7)’s Emmerdale. His grief over the death of his dad Rishi (Bhasker Patel) has been hugely complicated by the fact that Jai had recently discovered that Rishi wasn’t his biological father, a discovery that caused a rift between him and Rishi that hadn’t been mended when Rishi died.
When Jai discovered his dad lying lifeless at the bottom of the stairs at Holdgate, he cradled his body as he realised that Rishi had been the best, most loving father he could have had, and biology hadn’t in the end been important.
As well as his own grief he’s had to deal with all the admin involved in arranging to fly Rishi’s body to India to be cremated while also dealing with the grief of his siblings Priya (Fiona Wade) and Nikhil (Rik Makarem) while keeping the secret that Rishi was not his biological father.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
The episode saw him stressed over the preparations, talking to an upset Nikhil on the phone and worrying about his son Archie (Kai Assi), who wasn’t well.
There was also the issue of his cousin – who is in fact his brother – Suni (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana), who Jai had snapped at last time he saw him. He decided to go over to Holdgate to check on the place before he went to India and to apologise to Suni.
Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) joined him, but they weren’t prepared for what they found when they got there – a house full of people in pink boas and glitter face paint watching kids’ TV, Suni half dressed wandering downstairs shouting about pants and Tom (James Chase) and Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) looking a bit sheepish.
Rishi died on Jai and Laurel’s wedding day (Picture: ITV)
Suni explained that it wasn’t a party, it was just that they’d been having fun at Pride and decided to carry things on by inviting a few people back for some food and drinks.
‘That’s a party,’ Laurel corrected him.
Understandably Jai was furious at Suni’s lack of respect for Rishi’s house, and especially when Suni refused to apologise and said he was entitled to let his hair down before ‘going back to the Jewel in the Crown for two weeks of mourning.’
Fuming, Jai told Suni, Tom and Belle that he wanted them out of the house. ‘If you can’t show a modicum of respect for my dead father you can damn well find yourself somewhere else to live!’ he told them. ‘Pack your bags and go.’
More: Trending
Later, he’d calmed down a bit and decided to talk to Suni, who dropped the bombshell that he wasn’t going to India. He said that his father, Amit – who is also Jai’s father – wanted him to join the family textile business while Suni dreams of being a chef. ‘I go to India, I don’t come back,’ he explained.
Jai now faces making the sad journey on his own as he and Laurel decided she should stay at home to take care of Archie.
MORE : Emmerdale star Rosie Bentham reveals ‘chaotic’ new stories for Gabby
Jai took action.