| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Imran Maalik is the son of Misbah and Kashif Maalik, the brother of Farrah Maalik and Yasmine Cunningham, and the half-brother of Sami Maalik and Shaq Qureshi.
Biography[]
2000s-2017: Early Life[]
The youngest child of Misbah and Kashif Maalik, Imran was born in 2002 or 2003. In 2012, Kashif was framed for embezzlement by James Nightingale and died in prison in January 2013 (with Imran initially unaware that he died by suicide). Imran was left greatly affected by his death as he had a strong bond with his father.
2017-2019: Arrival & Anger Issues[]
Imran arrived in Hollyoaks in September 2017, helping his family move into 67 Christleton Terrace. He was enrolled in Hollyoaks High School and made friends with Tom Cunningham. However, Imran began to struggle with feeling left out after his sister Yasmine - who suffered from cardiomyopathy - underwent a heart transplant and her family became fixated on her well-being. Tensions came to a head when the family were involved in a car accident: a speeding lorry approached their oncoming car and Misbah opted to rescue Yasmine over a trapped Imran. Although managing to free himself and escape in time, Imran came to resent his mother and sister.
After sabotaging Misbah's friendship with Dirk Savage, Imran learned the full truth behind Kashif's death from his half-brother Sami and took his anger out on Misbah, accusing her of failing the family for questioning Kashif's innocence and slapping her. The next morning, Imran was apologetic and made amends with Misbah. However, he began playing truant from school and headteacher Sally St. Claire ended up escalating the matter. Misbah was called into a meeting with an education welfare officer, who fined Misbah for failing to respond to the school's letters about the truancies. Misbah later confronted Imran and a blazing row ensued, ending with Imran hitting Misbah with a door as he stormed off.
Imran later joined Buster Smith's football academy and befriended Ollie Morgan. After Yasmine fell ill, Misbah ended up missing an important match despite promising to attend. Being taunted over none of his family turning up, Imran exploded at Misbah and threatened to hit her with a television remote, with Misbah hitting him in self-defence. After spotting Imran with a bruise on his face, Sally reported Misbah to social services. Misbah admitted to the social worker that she had hit Imran, but the social worker decided that no intervention was necessary.
After Imran began acting violently towards Yasmine, Misbah told her of Imran's behaviour since the crash. As Imran continued to act violently towards Misbah, Misbah spoke with a doctor and was prescribed anti-anxiety pills, which Yasmine began spiking Imran with. Imran introduced his partner Brooke Hathaway to his family at a dinner party with Aunty Kameela, where an argument between the family broke out. Sami decided to take Imran to hospital due to his erratic behaviour, where he learned that he had been drugged. He discovered that Yasmine had been spiking him and punched her with a boxing glove, injuring her. Imran later stole Misbah's credit card to pay for a football trip to Barcelona, where Buster inappropriately touched him, which he kept quiet about.
Following the death of Tegan Lomax, Ste Hay blamed Misbah for her death as she had made an error caused by injuries sustained from being attacked by Imran. Late at night, Imran caught Ste at his food truck by himself and viciously attacked him, with the food truck catching alight. Imran decided to seek help for his anger and was checked into a clinic. He was discharged in January 2019 and testified in Buster's trial for sexually abusing Ollie and Brody Hudson, revealing that Buster had acted inappropriately on the Barcelona trip.
2019-2020: Targeted by Racists & Aftermath[]
Ste created a hate campaign against Misbah after Tegan's death, with Imran punching him after being provoked, over an image Ste had posted of Misbah. The next day, Imran confessed to the police and was given a caution by D.S. Yates. Ste pushed further and convinced Sally to suspend Imran for two weeks. The harassment from Ste continued and Imran also became a target of racial abuse from Ste's friend Jonny Baxter, a member of Stuart Sumner's far-right extremist organisation. Stuart's son Sid made false allegations to Sally that Imran had made terrorist threats against the school, but Officer Turley quickly realised that the allegations were malicious. As Ste, Jonny, Stuart and Sid moved into 65 Christleton Terrace, the targeted racism continued.
A few months later, a bomb was accidentally detonated in the backyard of 65 Christleton Terrace, leaving Yasmine deaf. Imran worked to generate negative publicity for The Teahouse, and supported Yasmine as she tried to come to terms with having lost her hearing. After Sid pushed Stuart off a cliff (to his death) in November 2019, Imran became less resenting with Sid but advised him to keep out of his way. However, when Imran's friend Juliet Nightingale began dating Sid, Imran showed no hostility.
In January 2020, Imran was offered drugs by a dealer, with Imran taking a photo of him to post on social media to warn the other villagers. The next day, Imran caught the dealer outside of Hollyoaks High School and the pair fought, with Mason pulling a knife and stabbing Nancy Osborne in the process. After Brooke fell pregnant and placed their and Ollie's baby for adoption, Imran tried to comfort Ollie. Ollie ended up developing a ketamine addiction and cheated on Brooke with Juliet, tearing the friend group apart. Imran began a relationship with Brooke and supported them when they came out as non-binary, but Brooke broke up with Imran to begin a relationship with Ripley Lennox.
2021-: Eating Disorder[]
Imran's cousin Shaq Qureshi arrived in the village in March 2021 to the family's delight. However, Shaq's arrival revealed some of the family's darkest secrets as Misbah revealed that she was Shaq's biological mother, not her sister Hasina. Imran lied to his family that he had been accepted for a photography course at university, but ended up confessing in November. The family were left devastated when Misbah revealed that Shaq had been conceived through rape. Misbah's rapist Ali Shahzad tried to manipulate Misbah, her family and anyone else who would listen into believing that Misbah was mistaken. After Shaq's girlfriend Verity Hutchinson and ex-girlfriend Theresa McQueen failed to get Ali arrested, Imran grabbed a knife and threatened to kill Ali if he did not confess. Ali confessed to Imran, which was overheard by the family. To prevent Ali going to the police, Sami threatened to have Ali murdered if he didn't make a confession to the poilice, which he did.
Attempting to move forward with his life, Imran applied for a job at The Love Boat, but lost to Sid and his girlfriend Lizzie Chen-Williams. However, he began to struggle with the family keeping secrets from him, as well as being made to feel inadequate by Shaq and Lizzie's brother Sam Chen-Williams. Imran ended up getting drunk, returning home to reveal his decision to renounce his faith. Misbah arranged for mosque Imam Zain Rizwaan to speak with Imran, but Imran could not be persuaded to change his mind. After being offered a job at The Dog in the Pond and befriending landlord Tony Hutchinson, Imran began distancing himself from his family more.
Imran ended up befriending Serena Chen-Williams, comforting her after she faced being kicked off her track & field team. He began to get fitness advice from Serena, becoming self-conscious about his weight and physique. He also began eating considerably less, resulting in Imran passing out on several occasions. After harshly rejecting Serena after she expressed interest in sleeping with him, Serena confronted Imran over his behaviour. Imran claimed that he had too much to deal with with his family and broke up with her.
After being left seriously ill in hospital after collapsing, Misbah discovered that Imran was anorexic. Imran initially rejected his diagnosis, but Misbah and Doctor Lewis convinced him to admit that he had an eating disorder. As Imran faced a long waitlist to be admitted to an inpatient clinic, Misbah falsified his records and he was admitted to Woodglade Wellness Clinic in January 2023.
Kill Count[]
Murders[]
None
Attempted murders[]
- Ali Shahzad, 20th December 2021 - Prepared to stab Ali with a knife, but was stopped by Yasmine Cunningham, Sami Maalik and Shaq Qureshi.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 67 Christleton Terrace | 25th September 2017 to 31st May 2023 |
| London | Since 31st May 2023 |
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Hollyoaks High School student | 2017-2021 |
| The Dog in the Pond employee | 10th March 2022 to 18th November 2022 |
Background Information[]
- Ijaz Rana's casting as Imran Maalik was announced on 18th September 2017, merely a week before his first appearance.
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2017-2019: Imran plays chess with his mother, Misbah.
- 2019-2022: Imran pushes Juliet in a Price Slice shopping trolley along the City Wall.
- 2022-2023: Imran holds hands with Misbah Maalik before greeting Yasmine Cunningham and Shaq Qureshi when they walk over.
Quotes[]
| “ | Your face! | ” |
— First line to Misbah Maalik after jumping out of a box, scaring her.
| ||
| “ | Wow, err... so this is weird. Can't believe you're really gone. You know, you helped save my life. I'm only here because of you. I'll never forget you. | ” |
— Final line, over video message to Juliet Nightingale's grave.
| ||
