EastEnders star thought her character was going to be killed off
- Balvinder Sopal, who portrays Suki Panesar in EastEnders, initially feared her character was being killed off when executives called for an unexpected meeting.
- The meeting was actually to gauge her interest in joining Strictly Come Dancing, following an approach from the show’s producers to EastEnders.
- Sopal confirmed her participation in the 2025 series of Strictly after discussions with her agent.
- She sustained a hip/glute injury during her first day of rehearsals but continued training after a physio assessment confirmed it was just tightness.
- In the first live show, Sopal and her professional partner Julian Caillon performed a samba, receiving 17 points from the judges.
Balvinder Sopal has revealed she thought she was being axed from EastEnders when she got the call for Strictly Come Dancing.
The soap star, 46, who plays Suki Panesar in the Walford-based show, is competing on this year’s series.
After taking to the ballroom on Saturday for her first performance, Balvinder revealed how she was told bosses wanted to sign her up.
The actress divulged she had been wanting a ‘conversation for quite some time’ with the Strictly producers.
She then told how bosses had gone directly to EastEnders to gage Balvinder’s potential interest in the show.
However, she explained how the current executive producer Ben Wadey then asked her for a conversation which left her fearing her character Suki was about to be killed off.
Balvinder Sopal has revealed she thought she was being axed from EastEnders when she got the call for Strictly Come Dancing
The soap star , 46, who plays Suki Panesar in the Walford-based show, is competing on this year’s series
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, Balvinder said: ‘So I was away at a spa weekend in Harrogate, and it was lovely, and we were trying to get a conversation for quite some time, and then Ben had to go away on holiday, so they were like, “we really need to get this conversation in before Ben goes away on holiday”.
‘Then my heart dropped and I was like, “oh no”.’
Admitting it was a ‘horrible’ feeling, Balvinder continued: ‘Ben starts the conversation with “so Bal, how are you feeling, you all right?” and I said “yeah, I’m grand, I’m grand”.
‘He says: “Look, Suki is a brilliant character, the audience love her, you’ve done really well with her, we love her she’s just been great”.
‘And I’m like “no, no, no, no. Please don’t”. And he went: “And you know, Strictly” and I went “yes, yes, yes”.’
Balvinder added that Ben told her it was ‘exactly the response they wanted’ and then started discussions with her agent on her place on the show.
Earlier this month Balvinder suffered an injury just two days into show rehearsals as she admitted the programme is the hardest she has ever worked.
She was rushed to see the show’s medical team after suffering a thigh injury during training.
Balvinder Sopal reveals injury after two days of Strictly rehearsals
After taking to the ballroom on Saturday for her first performance, Balvinder revealed how she was told bosses wanted to sign her up
The actress said how bosses had gone directly to EastEnders to gage Balvinder’s potential interest in the show
Earlier this month Balvinder suffered an injury just two days into show rehearsals as she admitted the programme is the hardest she has ever worked
The star took to her Instagram at the time to share how she heard ‘something pop’ while practising a routine.
She told fans: ‘So it’s the second day of training and I’m at physio. Something popped and I’m here to find out what exactly.’
Reassuring her followers she continued: ‘I’m fine, everything is ok, I can still walk, I can still move.
‘But my left glute and hip is feeling a little tight and uneasy so I’m going to get someone to look at it.’