Balvinder Sopal
Sopal in 2021
Born (1978-12-04) 4 December 1978 (age 45)
Chatham, Kent, England
EducationUniversity of Huddersfield
OccupationActress
Years active2001–present
Notable workEastEnders (2020–present)

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. Her most notable storyline includes her on-off affair with Eve Unwin. Sopal has also appeared in other British soap operas including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks.

Early life

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

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] In 2008, she appeared in the BBC film White Girl as Fatima.[6]

From 2009 to 2018, Sopal made numerous appearances in four British soap operas; Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks.[7][8] In December 2019, Sopal was cast in her first regular role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Suki Panesar.[9] Her first scene aired on 27 January 2020.[9]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Kidhaar! Reena 1 episode
2005 Anatomy of a Crime Dr Ali Film
2008 White Girl Fatima TV movie
2009 Coming Up Sofia Episode: "Adha Cup"
2009, 2014, 2017–2018 Emmerdale Legal Aid Solicitor (2009); DC Graves (2014); DC Khan (2017–2018) 5 episodes
2010 Five Days Detainee's Wife Episode: "Day 8"
2010 Waterloo Road Doctor Series 5: Episode 18
2012 Naachle London Laxmi Khan Film
2012 Perfume Mam Short film
2013, 2017 Coronation Street P.C. Marks 4 episodes
2014 Honeycomb Lodge Jas' Girlfriend Film
2018 Call the Midwife Mumtaz Gani 1 episode
2018 Doctors Aafiyah Choudary Episode: "Without and Within"
2018 Hollyoaks Liz 4 episodes
2020–present EastEnders Suki Panesar Series regular
2023 EastEnders: The Six Herself 2 episodes

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 Ref.
2020 Inside Soap Awards Best Villain EastEnders Nominated [10]
2020 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Newcomer EastEnders Nominated [11]
2020 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Newcomer EastEnders Second [12]
2021 26th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance EastEnders Nominated [13]
2021 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress EastEnders Nominated [14]
2021 Inside Soap Awards Best Villain EastEnders Nominated [14]
2021 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor (Female) EastEnders Third [15]
2022 Asian Media Awards Best TV Character EastEnders Won [16]
2022 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Couple (with Heather Peace) EastEnders Second [17]
2023 28th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance EastEnders Nominated [18]
2023 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (with Peace) EastEnders Nominated [19]
2023 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Actor EastEnders Fourth [20]
2023 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Couple (with Peace) EastEnders Won [20]

References

  1. ^ @BalvinderSopal (6 December 2020). "@DuncanLindsay Honestly - I do think people sense kindred spirits. Mine was on the 4th! ☺️ Have a beautiful day. x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ @DominicKingBBC (21 January 2021). "The Conversation" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Javin, Val (26 June 2008). "Bal faces up to a key role". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. ^ Iain Bloomfield Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b "Spotlight: Balvinder Sopal". Spotlight. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Profiling: Balvinder Sopal". Dick and Lottie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  7. ^ "EastEnders casts Balvinder Sopal as Suki Panesar". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ^ Slade, Alison (22 December 2019). "EastEnders announces 'powerful, ruthless and Machiavellian' new character arriving in the New Year". Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b Edwards, Chris (22 December 2019). "Former Coronation Street star Balvinder Sopal joins EastEnders as the Panesars' mum". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Inside Soap Awards reveals full longlist for 2020's ceremony". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (8 November 2020). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2020 Nominees". I Talk Telly.
  12. ^ Robinson, Abby (25 December 2020). "EastEnders triumphs at Digital Spy Reader Awards 2020". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  13. ^ Lovejoy, Hannah (25 May 2021). "Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars land National Television Award nominations". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b Alexander, Susannah (28 September 2021). "Inside Soap Awards announces 2021 longlist as voting opens – here's who's up for prizes". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  15. ^ Draper, Joe (21 December 2021). "The Digital Spy Reader Awards 2021 full results". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Tenth Asian Media Awards Winners Announced In Manchester". Asian Media Awards. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  17. ^ Rowan, Iona (27 December 2022). "EastEnders wins big at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2022". Digital Spy.
  18. ^ Cormack, Morgan (23 May 2023). "NTAs 2023 longlist revealed – SAS Rogue Heroes, Call the Midwife and more". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  19. ^ Alexander, Susannah (19 September 2023). "Inside Soap Awards 2023 announces final shortlist for 2023 ceremony". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  20. ^ a b Zammitt, Erin. "EastEnders sweeps the board at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2023". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

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