Dan Ferreira is the husband of Pushpa Ferreira and father of their four children Ash, Adi, Ronny and Kareena Ferreira. He made his first appearance on 3 June 2003 and his last on 30 December 2003. He was portrayed by Dalip Tahil.
Storylines[]
2003: Time in Walford[]
The Ferreiras move to Albert Square in 2003. Kareena Ferreira and Adi Ferreira run a clothes stall on the market, Ash starts working at the local community centre, and Ronny Ferreira earns money as a disc jockey, managed by his friend, Tariq Laroussi, whom Dan dislikes. It transpires that Tariq is in a secret relationship with Kareena, but the Ferreiras discover this after they split up, causing further animosity between Tariq and Dan.
Dan starts a relationship with Shirley Benson, telling her that his wife, Pushpa, is dead. He takes her to a wedding as his guest, but Pushpa arrives, introducing herself and exposing Dan's lie. Shirley then breaks up with him. The Ferreiras help Shirley to deal with her neighbour from hell, Gavin Sharp, which leads to Shirley and Ash becoming close and starting a secret relationship. Shirley is unhappy that Ash refuses to tell anyone about their relationship, as he knows his father will be furious if he discovers them together. Ash reveals to Shirley that he is a compulsive gambler and he lost his house and ruined his marriage in the process; Dan had bailed him out. He says he owes his father everything and he is not willing to hurt him. Dan attempts to woo Shirley again, forcing her to confess her relationship with Ash. This causes friction between the Ferreiras, as Dan takes out his anger on the rest of the family. Eventually Ash breaks up with Shirley to keep the peace. Dan disappears suddenly and clears out the family's bank account, leaving his children £12,000 in mortgage arrears. The truth behind his disappearance is never revealed.
Resident history[]
| Address | Years |
|---|---|
| 55 Victoria Road | 2003 |
| India | 2004- |
Notes[]
- Dan suddenly disappeared from the show upon 2003's conclusion after Dalip Tahil was detained by immigration officials due to problems with his work permit and being forced to leave the show. As a result, a huge storyline had to be scrapped which would have seen Dan's oppression and bullying of his family (both verbal and physical) continue to increase until eventually his children end up murdering him and attempting to conceal what happened. As the Ferreiras had been allocated extensive screentime, the plot was replaced by with an unpopular and drawn-out storyline which involved Ronny being attacked and needing a kidney.