Storylines
Sahira arrives at Holby City Hospital as a registrar on the cardiothoracic surgery ward, Darwin. Having taken time out from her career to have two children, she is assigned a mentor – a reluctant Jac Naylor ( Rosie Marcel), who sees her as a potential rival. It emerges that Sahira took the job at the behest of Director of SurgeryDevelopment
Creation and characterisation
Sahira was one of several characters introduced during ''Holby City'' thirteenth series, at a time when many established characters were written out. She, along with Hanssen and registrarCasting
In November 2010, it was announced that Rouass had been cast as Sahira. After she completed filming on the ITV programme '' Primeval'', Rouass told her agent that the only show she would sign a long-term contract with was ''Holby City'', as she believed it to be "so understated in the most positive sense." It was important to Rouass that she loved her character before signing, and explained that if she could not connect with Sahira and was not passionate about creating her, then she feared the role would become just another job. Rouass ultimately joined the show on a one-year contract, the longest she had ever signed. Sahira was created as a woman struggling to balance her career with being a mother, something Rouass was able to relate to as a working mother herself. Rouass, who had no medical expertise prior to her casting, said the role was "a real eye opener." She spent a day at The Heart Hospital in London as preparation, and commented in February 2011 that she also hoped to observe a real operation. Rouass felt it was crucial that she liked her character and remained passionate about creating her, otherwise she may not have taken the role on. When asked whether she had much input into the character or storylines, Rouass explained that she had been given a questionnaire to gauge her opinion of Sahira's backstory, and that the creative team were receptive to suggestions. In November 2011, Rouass announced her intention to leave ''Holby City'', in order to spend more time with her daughter. On 8 November, she stated that she would be filming for several more weeks, and that Sahira would remain on-screen until early spring 2012. She did not believe her character would be killed off.Relationships
Sahira was introduced as a rival for registrar Jac Naylor. Rouass characterised their relationship as a tense one, alleviated by frequent comedic one liners. She called the rivalry a highlight of Sahira's early storylines, noting that the "bitchy, catty comments aveit a fun element." Rouass explained that although Jac was threatened by Sahira's presence, a mutual – albeit silent – respect developed as a result of their shared profession. Though Jac had had antagonistic relationships with many of her colleagues beforehand, Katy Moon of ''Inside Soap'' assessed that she may have "met her match" in Sahira when the two competed for a cardiothoracic consultancy. Marcel, who plays Jac, observed that her character's previous competitors had all been male, in contrast to Sahira. She noted that Jac suspected nepotism on Hanssen's part had been responsible for Sahira's hiring, and commented that her character would not allow "someone like that" to best her. However, when one of Jac's patients later died in theatre, she was surprised that Sahira stood by her; Marcel called Sahira's loyalty "quite a moment" for Jac. When the future of the cardiothoracic ward was threatened, Jac secretly backed opposing plans by Sahira and Michael. Marcel explained that Jac had her own self-interest at heart: "She's on the side she's always been on, which is hers." She refrained from giving advice on a difficult case, "hoping Sahira ouldhang herself," however to the surprise of Jac and their colleagues, Sahira performed well and impressed Director of Surgery Henrik Hanssen. In October 2010, prior to Sahira's arrival, Guy Henry revealed that his character Hanssen would be mentoring a female doctor and their partnership would carry a "hint of unrequited love." It was later revealed that Sahira's backstory included a friendship with Hanssen. She was said to have a "dark history" with him. Whilst producer Craig-Brown revealed that they had storylines together planned for the whole of series thirteen. By January 2011, Henry confirmed the unrequited love scenario would be applied to Hanssen and Sahira. Rouass said their history was not romantic, just mentorship. Hanssen pushes Sahira as he believed her personal life prevented her from reaching her full potential. She agreed that Hanssen is a "big fan" of Sahira's work. Henry later revealed Hanssen was attracted to her but saw her more as this "wonderful doctor and a bloody good surgeon." The theme of unrequited love remained set in place, as he did not want "distract her" from her work. Sahira is married with two children. Rouass revealed that her family may be introduced to the series in 2011, and indeed her youngest son Indy appeared in the episode " What You Mean By Home". In her introductory episode, Sahira stated that she had two sons, however in the later episode " Hand In Glove", she mentioned having both a son and a daughter. Despite the fact her character is married, Rouass expressed her desire for Sahira to have a romantic relationship with an on-screen character. She hoped that Sahira would become involved in a love triangle as she found many of the male cast members "really dishy", and noted that being married has "never stopped anyone." She assessed that Sahira has "plenty of chemistry" with her colleague Greg Douglas, which she was looking forward to depicting. In June 2011, Craig-Brown stated that a central focus of series thirteen had been establishing Sahira's character and developing a triangle between herself, Greg and Hanssen. Asked about Sahira's future storylines, Craig-Brown commented, "there's been an amazing relationship developing between her and Greg, and it's going to be exacerbated by a blast from Greg's past". She said that this would bring the two closer together, but qualified, "I don't want it to be a conventional soap or serial drama story about a woman who has an affair, because I think it's not as simple as that. We're trying to mine the difficulties that people face if they fall in love with somebody else."Return
Sahira was reintroduced to the show in the twenty-second series, following Jac's departure from the serial. Rouass confirmed the news on her Instagram account in January 2021 by sharing an image of her and Henry on-set. She teased that Sahira would start "ruffling feathers". Sahira returns in the show's 1045th episode, broadcast on 10 February 2021, when she is hired as the new clinical lead of Darwin, the hospital's cardiothoracic ward. Sophie Dainty from ''Digital Spy'' reported that Sahira's return would explore her and Hanssen's "ambiguous relationship" again and there would be "a few surprises in store". The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the filming of ''Holby City'' and actors were required to stay two metres apart at all time. To get around this, actor's real-life partners were sometimes hired as body doubles for other characters. Rouass's partner, Ronnie O'Sullivan, volunteered himself for this but was rejected by producers for being "too hairy". Rouass explained that they could not match his body, so he was not invited onto set. Upon her return, Sahira is single, having separated from her husband. It emerges that Sahira had an affair, sparking the end of their marriage. Zubin Varla was reintroduced as her husband Rafi Raza for one episode, and Ali Hadji-Heshmati was cast in a recurring role as their eldest son, Abs Raza. Writers integrated Sahira into the unit of characters featured on Darwin ward, including consultant Kian Madani ( Ramin Karimloo), registrarReyhan Shah
''Holby City'' developed an issue-based storyline focusing on historical sexual abuse following Sahira's return. It is revealed that Sahira's father, Reyhan Shah (Raad Rawi), had sexually abused Hanssen while teaching him at boarding school. The story had been previously teased when Sahira was introduced. Henry explained that it was an "important topic" to cover and he was pleased to be entrusted with it. The story begins when Reyhan is admitted onto the wards in need of a transplant. Hanssen avoids treating him, but Sahira realises this and accuses him of not providing "his usual top-class treatment". Hanssen operates on Reyhan but is left "visibly distressed" after they have a conversation. Sahira is not a match for her father's transplant, leaving her "crushed". She becomes aware that Reyhan may not survive the wait for a transplant and considers tampering with his records to speed up the process. Hanssen realises her plans and tries to talk her out of it. Instead, Hanssen adjusts the records himself and performs the transplant. As he prepares to operate, Sahira confides in Hanssen that Reyhan's former pupils have made an allegation of abuse against him, leaving Hanssen "shaken". He struggles in theatre and makes a mistake, placing Reyhan into a coma. Writers pushed the story forwards when Hanssen admits to Sahira that he was abused by Reyhan. The development begins after Sahira bribes the mother of the pupil Reyhan abused into withdrawing the allegation. She is then glad when Abs visits her and Reyhan at hospital, but Hanssen is "horrified" when he suspects something wrong with Reyhan and Abs. He intervenes and confesses that he was abused by Reyhan as a teenager. Reyhan warns Hanssen that Sahira will not believe him. Henry told Victoria Wilson of '' What to Watch'' that Reyhan demonstrates himself to be "a devious, manipulative, nasty piece of work". Sahira refuses to believe Hanssen. Henry commented, "Deep in Sahira's heart and soul, she understands it's the truth but can't allow herself to believe it". Hanssen suggests that Sahira asks Abs about his relationship with Reyhan, angering Sahira who slaps Hanssen. As Hanssen reports his abuse to the police, Sahira decides to leave the hospital. '' Digital Spy'' Sophie Dainty confirmed that the character had not left and would feature in further episodes. Sahira returns following Reyhan's readmission onto the wards, and brings Abs with her. She struggles to diagnose her father and asks Hanssen for his opinion but when he suggests that Reyhan is self-harming to avoid trial, Sahira rejects the idea. While visiting, Abs challenges Reyhan on the allegations and it emerges that he is also abusing Abs. Reyhan then "shows his true colours" by threatening Abs, who confides in Sahira that he is being abused by his grandfather. The character of Reyhan is then killed-off as writers created a " whodunit" twist about if he was murdered. Sahira, Hanssen and Abs were named as the main suspects. The twist builds towards Rouass' departure from the show at the conclusion of her two-month guest stint. As an investigation into Reyhan's death begins, Sahira and Hanssen's friendship is tested. However, Sahira is shocked when Abs confesses to killing his grandfather. She decides to protect Abs and falsely informs Hanssen and the police that she killed Reyhan, devastating both Hanssen and Abs. This served as the character's exit from the series. She made her final appearance in the show's 1057th episode, broadcast on 4 May 2021.Reception
Rouass was nominated in the Drama Performance: Female category at the 2011 National Television Awards for her performance as Sahira. " Blue Valentine", the episode in which Sahira was introduced, was selected as recommended viewing by the '' Liverpool Daily Post'' and '' Sunday Mercury''. Both publications commented on the way she immediately made her presence felt through her interactions with Greg and sparring with Jac. The former additionally called her "very attractive and talented" and observed that she outshone Jac. The episode drew 5.59 million viewers, down from 6.13 million for the previous episode, however Andrew Laughlin of media news website '' Digital Spy'' attributed a rise of 310,000 viewers the following week to the storyline which saw Sahira struggle with her loyalty to Hanssen. TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh described Sahira as "an amazing character" because she is "head vs heart". He also said "this is a woman who is a surgeon, but whose emotions are very much to the full." The ''References
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