| Suki Panesar | |||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Balvinder Sopal | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2020–present | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 6069 27 January 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jon Sen | ||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | TV Soundtracks EastEnders: The Six (2023) | ||||||||||||||||
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Suki Panesar (also Kaur) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Balvinder Sopal. Sopal's casting and details about Suki were announced in December 2019, with the character making her first onscreen appearance on 27 January 2020. She was portrayed as the protective mother of Kheerat (Jaz Deol), Jags (Amar Adatia), Vinny (Shiv Jalota) and Ash (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) who believe that she always has the right answer. Prior to her arrival, it is confirmed that her relationship with Ash is severed due to disagreeing with her bisexuality. Her initial storyline sees her lying about having cancer to garner sympathy and get closer to her children. She was immediately well-received by viewers and critics, with Inside Soap writing that Suki had reached "soap icon status in record time".[1] Sopal was shocked by the praise that she and Suki had received from the beginning of her tenure.
Over her tenure, Suki was developed from an antagonist into a character with some vulnerability. This begins with Suki being affected by racial abuse graffitied over her shop due to believing she had become ingrained into Walford. Suki then frames her son Jags for crimes that other son Vinny was responsible for; Jags later gets murdered in prison. The story explores Suki's guilt over what she has done and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) becomes a key source of support for Suki. She tries to kiss Honey and it transpires that Suki has an attraction to women, which gives an understanding of her homophobic treatment towards Ash. Her various feuds have also been a focal point for the character, with Suki's rivalries including the entire Mitchell and Slater family units.
Suki is later given a long-term love interest in Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), and they embark on a secret affair. The on-off relationship has been told through a 'slow burn' approach to respect the reality of both the LGBTQ+ and the South Asian communities. Writers then introduced Suki's abusive husband, Nish (Navin Chowdhry), who is released from prison after he murdered Suki's friend. The storyline sees Suki coercively controlled by Nish, and despite not being scared of him, she is worried about what he could do throughout the storyline. Suki finally leaves Nish for Eve and helps to cover Nish's attack and the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) during "The Six" storyline. Sopal's acting abilities have been praised throughout her tenure and she has received various awards and nominations for her portrayal. Suki and Eve's relationship, dubbed 'Sukeve', has also been well-received by the LGBTQ+ community, with Diva magazine praising the representation it depicted.