Opinion: One year on from his death, how Rishi’s exit was one of the worst decisions Emmerdale could’ve made

Viewers of the ITV soap Emmerdale will know that Laurel, Jai and Archie recently paid tribute to Rishi on the anniversary of his tragic passing.

Poor Rishi lost his life a year ago after falling down the stairs on Jai’s wedding day… or so we originally thought.

Now, one year from Rishi’s death, here’s why the character’s sudden exit was a bad move.

Emmerdale: Rishi Sharma’s death

Last July, Jai and Laurel were getting ready to tie the knot on their wedding day. However, the event was tainted by the fact that Rishi and Jai weren’t really on speaking terms.

Jai had recently discovered that he was actually adopted. Rishi wasn’t his biological father, having kept this a secret from him for his entire life.

Jai’s biological father was actually the guy he had being calling his ‘Uncle’ – Amit.

Despite their falling out, Rishi had intended to attend Jai’s wedding. All suited up and ready to go, Rishi never made it though.

It was only after the wedding had happened that Jai entered the house and found Rishi dead at the bottom of the stairs. He never got to make things right with him.

Rishi’s ‘replacement’ was short-lived

After Rishi’s death, Amit Sharma made an entrance into the village. It wasn’t long though before Jai found out his biological dad’s killer secret, rumbling that he was actually behind Rishi’s passing. He had pushed him down the stairs…

Jai then teamed up with Pollard to blackmail Amit out of the village. Amit’s other son, Suni, also recently left the village too after finding out about Jai’s scheming.

So, after all of this, what was the point of poor Rishi’s exit? Rishi was ‘replaced’ by Amit, with Amit killing Rishi so that he could get his hands on his inheritance.

However, Amit actually ended up losing much more than he gained, handing back his HOP shares to Jai after being held against his will by his son. Amit wasn’t even in the village for a year, yet his brief appearance in the village seemed to take priority over Rishi’s 12 years. Let’s face it though, Amit was never going to be Rishi 2.0 no matter how hard he wanted to take his place.

No excuse can be made for Rishi’s death, but perhaps his upsetting exit would’ve been more justifiable if Amit had stuck around for longer. He had the potential to be a new serial killer, but departed as quickly as he arrived, making Rishi’s death all for nothing.

The Sharmas are slowly going extinct

Emmerdale could’ve really done without losing another Sharma. There was a time when the Sharmas played a huge part on the show, with Jai, Priya, Rishi and Nikhil running the family confectionary business.

However, slowly, the Sharmas have been dying out of the Dales. Now, only Jai remains. And, the guy has lost everything recently. He’s now going through a horrible marriage split from Laurel and doesn’t have many people to turn to.

If there was one person who could make everything better for Jai, it would’ve been Rishi. But, now, it feels as though Jai’s own days on the soap may be numbered (how long can be stay for as the one last Sharma standing?), making the Sharmas soon become another family to add to the Emmerdale history books. It’s all quite sad really!

Rishi death decision – a major mistake

When fans think of Rishi, they most likely think of fun and laughter. Until his feud with Jai, Rishi was best known for providing us with some much-loved comedy.

He was never scared to joke around (Rishi dressed up as a blueberry will forever spring to mind) and was a proper family guy. So much tragedy and heartbreak has filled our screens on Emmerdale recently and it’s a real shame that one of the show’s more joyful and bubbly characters has been lost.

The show has never quite felt the same since Rishi left. No-one’s laughed quite the same again. The village is missing that Rishi Sharma sparkle. Whoever tries to take his place next has some huge shoes to fill.