Desi Rascals

Desi Rascals is 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.

Desi Rascals
GenreReality television
Starring
Opening theme
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Gurinder Chadha
  • Tony Wood
  • Sharyn Mills
Production locationLondon
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBuccaneer Media
Release
Original networkSky Living (Series 1)
Sky 1 (Series 2)
Picture format16:9 (HDTV)
Original release20 January (2015-01-20) 
9 September 2015 (2015-09-09)
External links
Website

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, and Desi, a term for people from the Indian subcontinent.

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 memberOccupation/roleSeries
Adam MichaelidiesBusinessman2
Jason LoweBusinessman2
Farha RaiAppeared on Take Me Out2
Solomon AkhtarYoung entrepreneur, appeared on the tenth series of The Apprentice. He attended the University of Exeter.2
Ross WorswickBoyfriend to Jasmin. Appeared on the first series of Ex on the Beach2
Jasmin WaliaReality TV participant, appeared on The Only Way Is Essex from 2012 to 2015, Singer2
Wajma BaigWife to Anj Baig2
George PigottPersonal assistant to Yasmin Karimi2
Vaneeta ChapaneriOne of Shreena's best friends2
Amita PatelBeautician1–2
Anj BaigOwner of Pure Muscles Gym and Wembley's Anjees Dessert Lounge, older brother of Moses1–2
Moses BaigGym worker and aspiring DJ, younger brother to Anj1–2
Nusrat "Uncle Nuss" BegBodybuilder and gym owner1–2
Jay VaraBuilder, property developer, husband to Anita Vara, father of Sunjay Vara and Prakash Vara1–2
Anita VaraHospital worker, wife to Jay Vara1–2
Sunjay VaraMechanic, older brother to Prakash Vara1–2
Shreena VaraOnline digital manager, wife to Prakash Vara1–2
Prakash VaraHead of business intelligence, son to Jay and Anita Vara and husband to Shreena Vara1–2
Owais KhanProperty developer, personal trainer and model1–2
Yasmin KarimiMake-up artist1–2
Ravi GurtataWorks for family business1–2
Blake GoodmanFinancial consultant1–2
Manoj ShahSenior bank manager, husband to Celia Shah and father to Natalie and Jo. Famous for "meddling" and drinking tea.1–2
Celia ShahHealthcare assistant and phlebotomist, wife to Manoj Shah and mother to Natalie and Jo1–2
Natalie ShahAssistant supermarket manager/supervisor, sister to Jo Shah1–2
Jo ShahPerformer and Bollywood dancer, sister to Natalie Shah1–2
Arshina TrivediCo-owner of dance company Angels1–2
Rita SiddiquiEstate agent1–2

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 Bachchan 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 3 September 2016.
  3. "Overnights: 'Desi Rascals' loses viewers despite Big B special | BizAsia Media | The UK's only Asian media news site". Media247.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  4. Published Wednesday, Jul 22 2015, 15:33 BST (22 July 2015). "Ex-TOWIE star Jasmin Walia: 'In Desi Rascals you'll see the real me' – Celebrity News News". Reveal. Retrieved 3 September 2016.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "Overnights: 'Desi Rascals' makes respectable return | BizAsia Media | The UK's only Asian media news site". Media247.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
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