Created by Tony Jordan and introduced by Louise Berridge as a new Asian family, producers hoped they would become central to the show.

However, after Indian actor Dalip Tahil was forced to leave due to a controversy over his work permit, a major plot involving the family had to be scrapped and was replaced with a kidney transplant storyline that was branded "boring".

They were blamed for a decline in the show's viewing figures and were eventually axed by Kathleen Hutchison after bosses struggled to find storylines for the family.

The family, from Goa in India, also consisted of Dan's three sons, Ronny (played by Ray Panthaki), Ash (Raji James) and Adi (Ameet Chana), and daughter Kareena (Pooja Shah).

I thought we were short on males and needed a surge of testosterone,"[3] and said that the characters were formed around the actors: "We didn't set out knowing exactly what we wanted.

[3] The show's producers apparently vowed not to include too many racial issues in the family's storylines, although upon their arrival, the character of Jim Branning (John Bardon) was heard saying "they're Indian, they do like to pack 'em in, don't they?"

[7] In November 2003, it emerged that actor Dalip Tahil faced being axed from the show due to not having the correct work permit.

It was reported that after Tahil joined EastEnders from appearing in stage musical Bombay Dreams, neither he nor the BBC had obtained proper authorisation from the Home Office to make the switch of employment legal.

"[8] Tahil was forced to leave the show, and made his last appearance on 30 December 2003, although the actor was eventually allowed to remain in the UK.

[2][9][10] EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan revealed that it was intended that Dan would be murdered by his children after prolonged bullying and abuse, saying "The family arrived in Albert Square in what was expected to be a huge storyline.

"[2] The murder storyline was replaced with one concerning a kidney transplant between Ronny and his newly discovered half brother Tariq.

Jordan admitted they could have recast the character of Dan, but it may have looked "tacky": "We couldn't go, 'Tonight, the part of Mr Ferreira will be played by Michael French with a suntan'.

However, the sudden removal of actor Dalip Tahil, for reasons beyond our control, meant that the story had to be abandoned quickly – and 40 scripts rewritten on the spot.

"[11] Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC One, said the show became overdependent on the kidney transplant storyline as there were several cast problems, such as illness, pregnancy, rehab and a car crash.

[12] In April 2004, producers were concerned that the family were losing popularity with viewers, and a decision was made to write Pooja Shah out of the show for a while, but to bring her back with a sexier image to rival Michelle Ryan, who played Zoe Slater.

[14] A further attempt to "spice up" the family was made in July 2004 by bringing back character Sasha Perkins, played by Jemma Walker, and having her move in with the Ferreiras.

He claims to be a widower, talking about his wife as being dead, both to the neighbours and his children, but they have merely separated after she had an affair with his best friend, whom she moved in with.

[17] Kareena and Adi run a clothes stall on the market, Ash starts working at the local community centre, and Ronny earns money as a disc jockey, managed by his friend, Tariq, whom Dan dislikes.

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.

Meanwhile, Adi has a romance with Sasha Perkins (Jemma Walker), a pole dancer and escort, who he initially pays to pretend to be his girlfriend.

When bailiffs arrive to evict the family from their home, they board themselves into their living room, but eventually admit defeat and move into a flat with Sasha, starting a minicab firm called Toucan Cars.

Adi also has relationship problems after Sasha cheats on him with hothead gangster Danny Moon (Jake Maskall), leading to the couple's split.

Later on, the whole family gets into trouble with Danny's employer Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) - also the square's reigning gangland boss - after the latter agrees to loan several cars to the Ferreiras' business.

[20] Kareena initially opts to remain in Walford with Mickey, but at the last minute she changes her mind and departs with the rest of her family in March 2005.

"[17] British immigration laws state that nationals from outside the European Union should not replace resident actors capable of doing the same work.

[8] Several of the family's storylines were criticised and branded as unbelievable and poorly researched,[22] and they were cited as one of the main reasons viewing figures for the show dropped to a low of 6.2 million.

"[23] Fans called for the family to be axed, and an editorial on the Daily Mirror stated: "The Ferreiras' father, Dan, was probably not just the worst character in soap, but the most annoying, unlikeable person on all television.

Inveterate gambler, Ash and daughter Kareena are mere ciphers while Adi is just weird – like a gay version of a character from Rainbow.

Ronny Ferreira, meanwhile, [...] presided over the most boring storyline in EastEnders' history when viewers spent several weeks watching him lying in bed growing a beard (i.e. waiting for a kidney transplant).

"[26] The family's Goan origin was also criticised by Samir Shah, a member of the BBC's board of directors, citing it as an example of "inauthentic representation" of ethnic minority communities.