Ferreira family

Ferreira family
EastEnders family
The core Ferreira family
(L-R: Ash, Dan, Kareena, Ronny, Adi)
First appearanceEpisode 2528
3 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
Created byTony Jordan
Introduced byLouise Berridge
Duration2003–2005
Family members
Dan Ferreira
Portrayed byDalip Tahil
RelationshipHead of family
First appearanceEpisode 2528
3 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2650
30 December 2003
Pushpa Ferreira
Portrayed byMadhur Jaffrey
RelationshipWife of Dan
First appearanceEpisode 2544
1 July 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2570
15 August 2003
Ash Ferreira
Portrayed byRaji James
RelationshipSon of Dan and Pushpa
First appearanceEpisode 2529
5 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
OccupationMinicab controller, lecturer
Adi Ferreira
Portrayed byAmeet Chana
RelationshipSon of Dan and Pushpa
First appearanceEpisode 2529
5 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
OccupationMinicab driver
Ronny Ferreira
Portrayed byRay Panthaki
RelationshipSon of Dan and Pushpa
First appearanceEpisode 2529
5 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
OccupationDJ, minicab driver
Kareena Ferreira
Portrayed byPooja Shah
RelationshipDaughter of Dan and Pushpa
First appearanceEpisode 2528
3 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
OccupationBar staff
Tariq Larousi
Portrayed byNabil Elouahabi
RelationshipSon of Dan and an unknown woman
First appearanceEpisode 2529
5 June 2003
Last appearanceEpisode 2910
22 March 2005
OccupationPromoter, minicab driver

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 murdered 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 [he] created".