Desi Rascals arrived in January 2015 as Sky Living’s answer to structured-reality soaps, trading Essex gloss for the curry houses, gyms and front rooms of Wembley, Hounslow and Gerrards Cross. Creator Tony Wood, fresh from The Only Way Is Essex, teamed with Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha to film twice-weekly, just days before transmission, catching real barneys over wedding budgets, protein shakes and whose round it was at Anj’s dessert lounge. The title punned on Dizzee Rascal and “desi”, the self-chosen label for second-generation British Asians who mixed Diwali with Nando’s.
Series one ran twelve episodes, drawing respectable numbers for the small channel; Sky promptly promoted the property to flagship sibling Sky 1 for a July sequel. Viewers didn’t follow. Ratings halved, social chatter dried up, and on 15 October 2015 the network pulled the plug. Cast regulars included former Towie hanger-on Jasmin Walia, her boyfriend Ross Worswick fresh from Ex on the Beach, Apprentice reject Solomon Akhtar, and gym-owning brothers Anj and Moses Baig, whose sibling squabbles supplied most of the on-screen heat. The hurried production schedule meant divorces, pregnancies and new business launches unfolded on screen almost in real time, a novelty that couldn’t disguise the thin storylines once the novelty wore off.
Production Details
Sky Living / 2 Seasons / 19 Episodes / 2015 - Present
Main Cast
