sohail karim, played by ronny jhutti, is the son of ashraf and sufia karim (aftab sachak and rani singh). he arrives in 1988 and takes a liking to diane butcher (sophie lawrence). diane agrees to go on a date with him, but sohail tries to molest her, and after the date ends abruptly. sohail, along with the rest of his family, moves to bristol in 1990.