EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal has landed a different kind of role away from the world of soap.
The actress, who plays Walford’s Suki Panesar-Unwin, is serving as the latest guest editor on BBC Radio Kent.
Balvinder was born in Chatham in Kent and raised in nearby Gillingham.
She took to the airwaves on Friday’s edition of The Wake Up Call, hosted by Anna Cookson.
On Instagram, Bal shared her excitement at her guest role and revealed she would be taking calls from listeners about acting.
Balvinder joined the cast of EastEnders as Panesar matriarch Suki in 2020 and she has gone on to become one of the soap’s leading characters.
During her time on the Square, Suki has been central to many huge plots including husband Nish Panesar’s (Navin Chowdhry) emotional and physical abuse of her, as well as being part of the murderous Six storyline.
Perhaps most notable, however, has been Suki’s relationship with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), which saw them get married in EastEnders’ first lesbian wedding on New Year’s Day.
Speaking about her character recently, Balvinder said: ‘My main input at the start was that Suki retains her culture without being a stereotypical Asian. It had to be truthful enough for people to recognise themselves, even when they don’t come from that community.
‘We wanted Suki and the Panesars to be real people who were part of the fabric of Walford life, not parodies or signposted. I think we’ve achieved that, and then some.’
She added to Radio Times: ‘I like the way Suki holds her handbag, it’s like an eyebrow raise when she delivers a line. That’s evolved, the handbag has become a character in itself!’
