CHRIS TITLEY talks to a former soap star about life on the Street, racial stereotyping and his role in a new Yorkshire play.

ACTOR Chris Bisson was recognised the moment he arrived for rehearsals at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. "I pulled up outside the theatre and three girls looked across and said, 'it's Vikram'," he said.

Chris was cabbie Vikram Desai on Coronation Street. But although he left the soap two-and-a-half years ago, the public still associate him with Weatherfield's gambling drug runner.

"I don't think in the public mind you ever go fully beyond a character in Coronation Street. I did four years on Corrie. I was in people's living rooms five times a week. You are part of the family almost. They don't tend to forget."

This week Sean Wilson told the national press he was out to prove himself as a versatile actor after his Street character, Martin Platt, was axed after 20 years.

Chris was never planning to stay so long. "There's a fine line in soap on how long you stay there and whether you can go and find other work. The longer you stay the harder it is for you to leave. I wish Sean all the best. I hope he does fantastically well."

Certainly Chris's own experience suggests that life after the Street can be varied and exciting. He's starred in television drama, hit films, West End musical theatre and even reality TV. And he is about to bring a brand new play to life on stage at Leeds.

Players is a rites of passage story set in a Bradford pool hall. Chris takes the role of Ali, opposite Saraj Chaudry from hit film Bend It Like Beckham, who plays Bobby. Bradford playwright Tajinder Hayer wrote Players which Chris describes as "about the relationship between lads", and it is presented as part of the festival of new writing, Northern Exposure 2005.

Chris was keen to work at the West Yorkshire Playhouse because of its reputation for groundbreaking theatre, which, he said, was rivalled only by the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

Rehearsals have been fast and furious as the actors turn a new script into a piece of theatre. "We have only got a week to do that. The pressure is on."

In the same time, Chris must also master his Bradford accent. A Manchester lad, he is a big United fan, counting Ryan Giggs among his friends. The team also supported him during his brief stint on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Needless to say, Chris didn't enjoy the FA Cup Final. "Saturday was miserable for me... I am sure it wasn't so miserable in the white rose county."

Chris's roles in the acclaimed film East Is East and in Chicken Tikka Massala have identified him with the British Asian creative movement. But he is frustrated by being defined through other people's perceptions of his background.

"My father was from the West Indies, my mum was from Manchester. I went to a Roman Catholic school.

"Yet the only characters I'm ever playing are Muslims, Sikh or Hindus. It's all learnt for me."

Casting directors only consider him for a part when the name is Ali or Vikram or Kal, he explains. "I say to them, 'If the character's name is Chris from Manchester would you send me a script?' They say, 'probably not'."

After the Playhouse, Chris is filming a new series of Shameless for Channel 4 - playing Kash, an Asian shopkeeper.

But which part would be his dream job? "I would love to be Doctor Who," he said. "I am perfect for it!"

Players, directed by Mark Catley, is at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from May 31 to June 4 at 7.45pm, with a matinee on Saturday June 4 at 2.30pm. Box office: 0113 213 7700

Updated: 16:45 Thursday, May 26, 2005