BBC EastEnders Suki Panesar star’s life – glam snaps, real age and rival soap roles
Suki Panesar has been a fixture in EastEnders since 2020 - but what about the woman behind the stern character? Daily Star takes a look at actress Balvinder Sopal's life
EastEnders’ Suki Panesar arrived in Walford back in 2020 with the character causing a stir ever since she stepped foot in Albert Square.
When she arrived, the matriarch introduced viewers to her four children: Kheerat, Jags, Ash, and Vinny – and there’s been plenty of chaos within the family over the past three years. Suki is portrayed by Balvinder Sopal – an actress who resides in Kent.
Having popped up a slew of TV shows – including rival soaps – and keen on inspiring women, Daily Star takes a look inside Balvinder’s life away from Albert Square.
Real age
When portraying Suki in EastEnders, Balvinder’s character’s age is unknown – but in real life she’s a similar age to her on-screen son Kheerat. Balvinder and Jaz Deol, who played Kheerat, only have a nine year age gap – meaning in real life they’re more likely to be brother and sister rather than mother and son. In real life Balvinder is 42, while Jaz is 33.
Debut acting roles
Her acting debut was more than 20 years ago when in 2001 she played Bhelua in The Beautiful Violin at Oldham Coliseum Theatre. She then stayed in the realms of stage productions and popped up in the likes of Absent Friends, Relatively Speaking and The Tales of the Harrow. It was also in 2001 that she made her on-screen debut when she appeared in the BBC series Kidhaar! as Reena, before returning to the BBC in 2008 when she appeared in TV film White Girl as Fatima.
Humble home
Away from Albert Square, Balvinder lives in Medway in Kent and often shares snaps from her day-to-day life and snippets from being at home on Instagram. The soap star lives a humble life in the Gillingham/Chatham area of the county, and has written about her love for Kent on Instagram before.
Writing in a post alongside a snap of herself, she said: “I love where I come from. It’s taken me a while to really appreciate how creatively diverse Medway and surrounding areas in Kent are. “Sure, some places aren’t as beautiful, affluent, or full of rows of quaint little coffee shops, but it is full of heart and it’s where I grew up. It’s where I come from.”
Inspiring activism
Balvinder is a big fan of inspiring and empowering women and she spoke to KentLive in March (2022) about why International Women’s Day is important. I think we need it because we’re still having conversations where women still don’t feel comfortable in certain spaces or feel that they’re being heard or seen,” she told the publication.
“Speaking up and speaking about your own story is very important and we’re all equal and valued as human beings.” As well as all of the above, she works for Kent Refugee Action Network, where she once met a young refugee who said they had learned to speak English by watching British soap operas.
Touched by the meeting, Balvinder took to Instagram and recalled the moment when she said: “She told me she learned to speak English (the way the English do) by listening to us on the telly. I was amused and yet this way of learning language and culture resonated with me. Watching Bollywood movies and Indian soaps was also one of the ways I learned to speak Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.”
Rival soap roles
EastEnders isn’t Balvinder’s first soap rodeo. From 2009 to 2018 she popped up in many a soap opera – meaning if you’re an avid soap fan, you’ve probably seen her on your TV screen before.
Not leaving any British soap off of her resumé, with the 42-year-old having popped up in the likes of Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks. But she didn’t get a regular soap role until she was 40! It was in December 2019 that Balvinder was cast in her first regular role as Suki Panesar in EastEnders with her first scenes airing in January 2020.
Glam snaps
Away from Walford the Suki actress is rather glamorous and often shares stunning snaps and selfies on her Instagram page. On her page, @leesopal, she can be seen enjoying lavish holidays abroad – as well as chic snaps from her everyday life. Recently she shared a holiday snap from the summer where she could be seen holding a drink beneath the sun while looking worlds away from her soap role.
