Balvinder Sopal (born 4 December 1978) is a British actress, whose acting career has spanned over two decades. She rose to prominence for her portrayal as Suki Panesar in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since January 2020. Sopal has also appeared in other British soap operas including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks, as well as voicing Simran Kaur in the radio soap opera Silver Street from 2004 to 2010. In 2025, she was a contestant on the twenty-third series of Strictly Come Dancing, where she reached the semi-final after breaking the record for most dance-off wins on the show.
Early life Balvinder Sopal was born on 4 December 1978 in Chatham, Medway. She is the eldest of four children and was brought up in Gillingham, Medway. She attended the University of Huddersfield.
Career Sopal made her professional acting debut as Bhelua in The Beautiful Violin at Oldham Coliseum Theatre in 2001.Iain Bloomfield She then went on to appear in stage productions such as Absent Friends, Relatively Speaking and The Tales of the Harrow. Sopal made her onscreen debut in a 2001 episode of the BBC series Kidhaar! as Reena directed by Kate Rowland. From 2004 to 2010, she voiced Simran Kaur in the BBC Asian Network radio soap opera Silver Street. In 2008, she appeared in the BBC film White Girl as Fatima.
From 2009 to 2018, Sopal made numerous appearances in four British television soap operas; Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks. In December 2019, she was cast in her first regular role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Suki Panesar. Her first scene aired on 27 January 2020. Suki's most notable storyline includes her coming out as a lesbian and her relationship with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), which won several awards.
In 2025, Sopal was a contestant on the twenty-third series of the BBC competition series Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with Julian Caillon for the series. Throughout her time on the show, Sopal broke the record for competing in the most dance-offs in the show's history, having won five and being eliminated following her sixth, in the semi-final against Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.
Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes 2005 Anatomy of a Crime Dr Ali Film2012 Naachle London Laxmi Khan Perfume Mam Short film 2014 Honeycomb Lodge Jas' Girlfriend
Television + Year Title Role Notes 2002 Kidhaar! Reena 1 episode 2008 White Girl Fatima Television film 2009 Coming Up Sofia Episode: "Adha Cup" 2009, 2014, 2017–2018 Emmerdale Legal Aid Solicitor / DC Graves / DC Khan 5 episodes 2010 Five Days Detainee's Wife Episode: "Day 8" Waterloo Road Doctor 1 episode 2013, 2017 Coronation Street P.C. Marks 4 episodes 2018 Call the Midwife Mumtaz Gani 1 episode Doctors Aafiyah Choudary Episode: "Without and Within" Hollyoaks Liz 4 episodes 2020–present EastEnders Suki Panesar-Unwin Regular role2023EastEnders: The SixHerself2 episodes 2025 EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square Herself Interviewed guest 2025 Pointless Herself Contestant 2025 Strictly Come Dancing Herself Contestant; series 23
Stage + Year Title Role 2001 The Beautiful Violin Bhelua 2004 Absent Friends Evelyn 2006 Relatively Speaking Ginny 2008 Beast Market Various 2008 Mela Mariam 2009 Table Manners Annie 2009 Counted? Various 2010 The House of Bilquis Bibi Zainab 2010 The Tales of the Narrow Road Mukti 2011 Behna Masi Ji 2012–2013 The Snow Queen Snow Queen/Goddess 2013 Our Glass House Sufiya 2014, 2016 Stowaway Salma/Debbie 2014 Home Sweet Home Daadi 2015 The Deranged Marriage Lata 2015 Storm in a Chai Cup Reet 2015 The Edge The Edge 2016 Sleepless Cosima Trevison 2017 Running Wild Mum 2017 Partition Denise 2018 The Thing that Came to Dinner Mrs Caldwell 2018 Delete Sue 2019 Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile Mo 2019 My Beautiful Laundrette Bilquis/Moose
Awards and nominations + Year Award Category Work Result 2020 Inside Soap Awards Best Villain EastEnders 2020 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Newcomer EastEnders 2020 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Newcomer EastEnders 2021 National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance EastEnders 2021 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress EastEnders 2021 Inside Soap Awards Best Villain EastEnders 2021 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor (Female) EastEnders 2022 Asian Media Awards Best TV Character EastEnders 2022 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Couple (with Heather Peace) EastEnders 2023 National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance EastEnders 2023 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (with Peace) EastEnders 2023 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor EastEnders 2023 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Couple (with Peace) EastEnders 2024 RadioTimes.com Soap Awards Best Actor EastEnders 2024RadioTimes.com Soap AwardsInspiring Storyline of the YearEastEnders 2024 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (with Peace) EastEnders 2024 Inside Soap Awards Soap Superstar EastEnders 2024 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (with Peace) EastEnders 2024 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor EastEnders 2024 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Couple (with Peace) EastEnders
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