Balvinder Sopal (born 4 December 1979)[3] is an English actress. Having previously made appearances in British soap operas including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks, she has portrayed the role of Suki Panesar in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since January 2020.
Balvinder Sopal | |
---|---|
![]() Sopal in 2021 | |
Born | (1979-12-04) 4 December 1979 (age 42) Chatham, Kent, England[1] |
Education | University of Huddersfield[2] |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2001–present |
Notable work | EastEnders |
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]
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 |
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 Launderette | Bilquis/Moose |
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Villain | Nominated | [10] |
2020 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | Nominated | [11] |
2020 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Newcomer | Second | [12] |
2021 | 26th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Nominated | [13] |
2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | [14] |
2021 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Villain | Nominated | [14] |
2021 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Actor (Female) | Third | [15] |
2022 | Asian Media Awards | Best TV Character | Pending | [16] |