Desi Rascals

Desi Rascals
Genre Reality television
Opening theme
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Gurinder Chadha
  • Tony Wood
  • Sharyn Mills
Location(s) London
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) Buccaneer Media
Release
Original network Sky Living (Series 1)
Sky 1 (Series 2)
Picture format 16:9 (HDTV)
Original release 20 January (2015-01-20) – 9 September 2015 (2015-09-09)
External links
Website

Desi Rascals was a structured-reality television series broadcast by Sky 1 and Sky Living in the United Kingdom. Desi Rascals chronicled the lives of a multi-generational cast living within the British Asian community of London.[1] The show was created by former producer of The Only Way Is Essex, Tony Wood, and Bend It Like Beckham director, Gurinder Chadha. Desi Rascals was cancelled on 15 October 2015 after disappointing ratings in the second series.

History

The show was first commissioned by Celia Taylor, head of non-scripted at Sky, in September 2014. Sky Living director Antonia Hurford-Jones told Broadcast that the "way into" Desi Rascals would be through the eyes of a group of British Asian thirty-somethings. The first series began on 20 January 2015, continuing for twelve episodes, with two episodes broadcast each week (on Tuesday and Friday at 8pm). The show's title is a play on the name of British rapper, Dizzee Rascal.

After a successful first series, a second was commissioned by Sky and began broadcasting on Sky 1 on 22 July 2015. Unlike the debut series, the second failed to attract much of an audience and on 15 October 2015 it was revealed that a third series would not be commissioned.

Filming

Filming took place just days before broadcast in the West London areas of Gerrards Cross, Harrow, Hounslow, Wembley and Pinner.[2]

Main cast

Cast member Occupation/role Series
Adam Michaelidies Businessman 2
Jason Lowe Businessman 2
Farha Rai Appeared on Take Me Out 2
Solomon Akhtar Young entrepreneur, appeared on the tenth series of The Apprentice. He attended the University of Exeter. 2
Ross Worswick Boyfriend to Jasmin. Appeared on the first series of Ex on the Beach 2
Jasmin Walia Reality TV participant, appeared on The Only Way Is Essex from 2012-2015 2
Wajma Baig Wife to Anj Baig 2
George Pigott Personal assistant to Yasmin Karimi 2
Vaneeta Chapaneri One of Shreena's best friends 2
Amita Patel Beautician 1-2
Anj Baig Owner of Pure Muscles Gym and Wembley's Anjees Dessert Lounge, older brother of Moses 1-2
Moses Baig Gym worker and aspiring DJ, younger brother to Anj 1-2
Nusrat "Uncle Nuss" Beg Bodybuilder and gym owner 1-2
Jay Vara Builder, Property Developer, Husband to Anita Vara, Father of Sunjay Vara and Prakash Vara 1-2
Anita Vara Hospital worker, wife to Jay Vara 1-2
Sunjay Vara Mechanic, older brother to Prakash Vara 1-2
Shreena Vara Online digital manager, wife to Prakash Vara 1-2
Prakash Vara Head of business intelligence, son to Jay and Anita Vara and husband to Shreena Vara 1-2
Owais Khan Property developer, personal trainer and model 1-2
Yasmin Karimi Make-up artist 1-2
Ravi Gurtata Works for family business 1-2
Blake Goodman Financial consultant 1-2
Manoj Shah Senior bank manager, husband to Celia Shah and father to Natalie and Jo. Famous for "meddling" and drinking tea. 1-2
Celia Shah Healthcare assistant and phlebotomist, wife to Manoj Shah and mother to Natalie and Jo 1-2
Natalie Shah Assistant supermarket manager/supervisor, sister to Jo Shah 1-2
Jo Shah Performer and Bollywood dancer, sister to Natalie Shah 1-2
Arshina Trivedi Co-owner of dance company Angels 1-2
Shmoyel Siddiqui Gallery director and model 1-2
Rita Siddiqui Estate agent, unrelated to Shmoyel 1-2
Feryal Javid Khan

Episodes

Series 1 (2015)

The first series of Desi Rascals, with a total of twelve episodes, began showing on Tuesday 20 January 2015. It was broadcast on Sky Living and had an average of 105,000 viewers. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachan made a special appearance in the fourth episode broadcast on 30 January 2015.[3]

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original airdate UK viewers
11"Episode 1"20 January 2015 (20 January 2015)88,000
22"Episode 2"23 January 2015 (23 January 2015)65,000
33"Episode 3"27 January 2015 (27 January 2015)106,000
44"Episode 4"30 January 2015 (30 January 2015)74,000
55"Episode 5"3 February 2015 (3 February 2015)179,000
66"Episode 6"6 February 2015 (6 February 2015)123,000
77"Episode 7"10 February 2015 (10 February 2015)134,000
88"Episode 8"13 February 2015 (13 February 2015)90,000
99"Episode 9"17 February 2015 (17 February 2015)118,000
1010"Episode 10"20 February 2015 (20 February 2015)70,000
1111"Episode 11"23 February 2015 (23 February 2015)156,000
1212"Episode 12"27 February 2015 (27 February 2015)59,000

Series 2 (2015)

Immediately after the finale of the first series, Sky commissioned a second series. On 6 July 2015, it announced that former The Only Way Is Essex cast member Jasmine Walia, her boyfriend Ross Worswick (Ex On The Beach), The Apprentice star Solomon Akhtar and Farah Rai of Take Me Out will all be starring in the second series. The second series trailer was released on 10 July 2015 and unlike the first series, will be broadcast on the main Sky channel Sky 1 rather than Sky Living. The second, and last series, began on 22 July 2015 and lasted eight episodes. [4]

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original airdate UK viewers
113"Episode 1"22 July 2015 (22 July 2015)161,400 [5]
214"Episode 2"29 July 2015 (29 July 2015)TBA
315"Episode 3"5 August 2015 (5 August 2015)TBA
416"Episode 4"12 August 2015 (12 August 2015)TBA
517"Episode 5"19 August 2015 (19 August 2015)TBA
618"Episode 6"26 August 2015 (26 August 2015)TBA
719"Episode 7"2 September 2015 (2 September 2015)TBA
820"Episode 8"9 September 2015 (9 September 2015)TBA

References

  1. Wilson, Jess (15 January 2015). "Desi Rascals: Everything you need to know about cast of new British-Asian reality series". Mirror Online. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  2. "Watch". Sky.com. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  3. "Overnights: 'Desi Rascals' loses viewers despite Big B special | BizAsia Media | The UK's only Asian media news site". Media247.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  4. Published Wednesday, Jul 22 2015, 15:33 BST (2015-07-22). "Ex-TOWIE star Jasmin Walia: 'In Desi Rascals you'll see the real me' - Celebrity News News". Reveal. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  5. "Overnights: 'Desi Rascals' makes respectable return | BizAsia Media | The UK's only Asian media news site". Media247.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
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