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The Ferreira family are a fictional family from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', that appeared on screen between 2003 and 2005. Created by Tony Jordan and introduced by Louise Berridge as a new Asian family, producers hoped they would become central to the show. However, after Indian actor Dalip Tahil was forced to leave due to a controversy over his work permit, a major plot involving the family had to be scrapped and was replaced with a kidney transplant storyline that was branded "boring". It was later revealed that the dropped storyline involved Dan being murderered by his children and buried in a shallow grave. The characters were also called "unrealistic", "annoying", and "unlikeable" by many of the show's fans and critics. They were blamed for a decline in the show's viewing figures and were eventually axed by Kathleen Hutchison after bosses struggled to find storylines for the family. Jordan later admitted the family's members were "the least successful characters () created". ==Creation== The Ferreiras were introduced in 2003 as the first Asian family in ''EastEnders'' since Sanjay (Deepak Verma) and Gita Kapoor (Shobu Kapoor), who both departed from the show in 1998. They were also the first large family to arrive since the Slater family's arrival in 2000. The family were the creation of writer Tony Jordan, and Bollywood star Dalip Tahil was cast by the show's executive producer, Louise Berridge, to play Daniel "Dan" Ferreira, the patriarch of the family. The family, from Goa in India, also consisted of Dan's three sons, Rohan "Ronnie" (played by Ray Panthaki), Ashwani "Ash" (Raji James) and Aditya "Adi" (Ameet Chana), and daughter Kareena (Pooja Shah). Ronnie's friend Tariq Larousi, played by Nabil Elouahabi, also joined the show at the same time.〔 BBC drama bosses worked on introducing an Asian family, who would be central to the show, for a couple of years. Berridge commented on the casting: "After a search which has taken more than two years, and in which we have met literally hundreds of people, we have finally found the perfect cast for our dynamic new family. We're delighted to welcome the Ferreiras to Albert Square and I'm sure the viewers will be too."〔 Berridge also claimed the show didn't set out to look for an Asian family, saying: "We wanted a new family as there were various elements missing from the show. I thought we were short on males and needed a surge of testosterone," and said that the characters were formed around the actors: "We didn't set out knowing exactly what we wanted. We workshopped constantly, trying out different improvisations with the actors and the characters evolved." It was hoped that the family would have a big impact on the other characters.〔 The show's producers apparently vowed not to include too many racial issues in the family's storylines, although upon their arrival, the character of Jim Branning (John Bardon) was heard saying "they're Indian, they do like to pack 'em in, don't they?" in reference to the family's size. On being cast in the show, Tahil admitted that he wasn't aware of how big a part of British culture the soap was until he arrived in the United Kingdom, saying "It's going to be a big adventure."〔 The other actors in the family all said they were looking forward to joining the show, with James saying "() really looking forward to the challenges of working on such a huge programme," and Shah commenting "Joining ''EastEnders'' is a dream come true. I have been a fan of the programme for many years and I'm looking forward to joining the cast." The family first appeared on screen on 3 June 2003. Later on in the year Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey was cast in ''EastEnders'' as Dan's estranged wife, Pushpa. Jaffrey commented, "I really wanted to do the role because Indian women are usually portrayed as so proper and withdrawn – the kind of women who just stay at home cooking and cleaning. I thought, 'How wonderful of ''EastEnders'' to write a character that is realistic.' What my character has done happens all the time in India; there are all kinds of stories of people running away and marrying their lovers. This is what commonly happens in those places, but somehow the image of Indian womanhood is different." Pushpa was a guest character only appearing for the duration of a storyline that revealed Dan had been lying about her death and had actually left him for another man, Pradeep (Kaleem Janjua) Dan's best friend. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ferreira family」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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