Naila Badal

Naila was a journalist employed by the Weatherfield Gazette who came to Nick's Bistro on a Monday night in July 2013 when they attempted their first - and only - student night.

Naila made it quite clear from the moment that she walked through the door that she wasn’t pleased to be there, telling co-owner and evening organiser Leanne Tilsley that thanks to her “sleeze of a boss” she wasn’t covering the big stories and asked for a “massive” dry white wine. After taking desultory notes, she said her goodbyes, saying that her story would probably appear among the used car ads or next to a picture of a dog that looked like Wayne Rooney. However the night was young…

Nick Tilsley’s half-brother David Platt had discovered that his wife Kylie and Nick had had a Christmas Day fling and was out for his revenge. Finding out that there was a journalist on the premises, David made an anonymous phone call to the police that there was drug dealing taking place in the bistro and they despatched two officers to investigate. Naila’s eyes lit up as a search ensued, telling Mary Taylor that her boss would be fuming as she would be going back with a scoop and she made diligent notes when she heard Kylie’s admission that she used to be a cage dancer. She begged Nick for a soundbite and asked for his age, saying it looked better in a sentence such as “The Accused, 37….”

When the story appeared, it put the bistro in a bad light, leading to booking cancellations and causing a rift between Nick and Leanne, which was just as David had intended.