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Balvinder Sopal joins the likes of former contestants Patsy Palmer, Bobby Brazier, and Rose Ayling-Ellis to become the latest EastEnders actor to take part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series.
The actor, 46, was the fifth celebrity to be announced for the lineup of the 2025 series of the BBC dance competition, and said that being a contestant on the show was a dream she never thought would happen.
“I’m far too excited to put into words how I feel but I’m incredibly excited at the prospect of dancing across the ballroom!” she said.
Sopal has played Suki Panesar on EastEnders since 2019 and has been at the heart of some of the soap’s most gripping storylines.
These have included escaping her abusive husband Nish (Navin Chowdhry) and having an on-off affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), for which she was awarded the 2024 Inside Soap Soap Superstar award.
Brought up in Chatham, Medway, the TV star attended the University of Huddersfield before making her onscreen debut in the 2001 BBC series Kidhaar!
Soap still lives in her hometown to this day. “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,” she said.
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Balvinder Sopal as Suki Panesar on ‘EastEnders’ (BBC)
“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.”
Seven years on from Kidhaar!, Sopal appeared in the BBC film White Girl, which follows 11-year-old Leah (Holly Kenny) after she moves to a predominantly Muslim area of Bradford with her family.
Sopal went on to make numerous appearances in a slew of British soap operas, including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctor and Hollyoaks, as well as BBC dramas Call the Midwife and Waterloo Road, before landing her first regular role in EastEnders.
The actor has confirmed she will still appear on the soap while taking part in Strictly, but fans might notice less of her character on their screens for the duration of the competition.
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Soap star suffered health scare ahead of the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ launch (Instagram/@leesopal)
“It will be a sort of reduced schedule, but I am working there and, actually, I quite like the idea that I get to do both,” she told reporters at a press day ahead of the series launch.
She continued: “Strictly and Eastenders have a really great relationship. We always have somebody from the show on Strictly, so they’re very mindful.”
Days before the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing launch, Soap sustained an injury during rehearsals that saw her rushed to see the show’s physiotherapy team after she heard “something pop” as she trained.
“I’m fine, everything is OK. I can still walk and still move but my left glute, my left hip is feeling a little tight and uneasy, so I’m going to get someone to look at it,” the actor explained on social media.
She told fans in the days afterwards: “Hip/glute all good – just tight. Thank you for all your messages of love and support. We kept dancing.”