Balvinder Sopal
Balvinder Sopal | |
|---|---|
| Error creating thumbnail: Sopal in 2021 | |
| Born | 4 December 1978 Chatham, Kent, England |
| Education | University of Huddersfield |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | EastEnders Strictly Come Dancing |
Balvinder Sopal (born 4 December 1978) is an English 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
[edit | edit source]Balvinder Sopal was born on 4 December 1978 in Chatham, Medway.[1][2] She is the eldest of four children and was brought up in Gillingham, Medway.[3] She attended the University of Huddersfield.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Sopal made her professional acting debut as Bhelua in The Beautiful Violin at Oldham Coliseum Theatre in 2001.[4] She then went on to appear in stage productions such as Absent Friends, Relatively Speaking and The Tales of the Harrow.[5][6] Sopal made her onscreen debut in a 2001 episode of the BBC series Kidhaar! as Reena directed by Kate Rowland.[5] From 2004 to 2010, she voiced Simran Kaur in the BBC Asian Network radio soap opera Silver Street.[7][8] In 2008, she appeared in the BBC film White Girl as Fatima.[6]
From 2009 to 2018, Sopal made numerous appearances in four British television soap operas; Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors[9] and Hollyoaks.[10][11] In December 2019, she was cast in her first regular role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Suki Panesar.[12] Her first scene aired on 27 January 2020.[12] Suki's most notable storyline includes her on-off affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), which won several awards.
In August 2025, Sopal was announced as a contestant on the twenty-third series of the BBC competition series Strictly Come Dancing.[13] She is partnered with Julian Caillon for the series.[14] 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.[15]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Film
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Anatomy of a Crime | Dr Ali | Film |
| 2012 | Naachle London | Laxmi Khan | |
| Perfume | Mam | Short film | |
| 2014 | Honeycomb Lodge | Jas' Girlfriend |
Television
[edit | edit source]| 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 | Regular role |
| 2023 | EastEnders: The Six | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square | Herself | Interviewed guest |
| 2025 | Pointless | Herself | Contestant |
| 2025 | Strictly Come Dancing | Herself | Contestant; series 23 |
Stage
[edit | edit source]| 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
[edit | edit source]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Villain | EastEnders | Longlisted | [16] |
| 2020 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | EastEnders | Nominated | [17] |
| 2020 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Newcomer | EastEnders | Second | [18] |
| 2021 | National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | EastEnders | Longlisted | [19] |
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | EastEnders | Nominated | [20] |
| 2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Villain | EastEnders | Nominated | [20] |
| 2021 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Actor (Female) | EastEnders | Third | [21] |
| 2022 | Asian Media Awards | Best TV Character | EastEnders | Won | [22] |
| 2022 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Soap Couple (with Heather Peace) | EastEnders | Second | [23] |
| 2023 | National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | EastEnders | Longlisted | [24] |
| 2023 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (with Peace) | EastEnders | Shortlisted | [25] |
| 2023 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Actor | EastEnders | Fourth | [26] |
| 2023 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Soap Couple (with Peace) | EastEnders | Won | [26] |
| 2024 | RadioTimes.com Soap Awards | Best Actor | EastEnders | Nominated | [27] |
| 2024 | RadioTimes.com Soap Awards | Inspiring Storyline of the Year | EastEnders | Won | [28] |
| 2024 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (with Peace) | EastEnders | Shortlisted | [29] |
| 2024 | Inside Soap Awards | Soap Superstar | EastEnders | Won | [30] |
| 2024 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Partnership (with Peace) | EastEnders | Won | [31] |
| 2024 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Actor | EastEnders | Won | [32] |
| 2024 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Soap Couple (with Peace) | EastEnders | Second | [32] |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Balvinder Sopal at IMDbLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).