Balvinder Sopal

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Balvinder Sopal
Balvinder Sopal.jpg
Sopal in 2021
Born (1978-12-04) 4 December 1978 (age 46)
Chatham, Kent, England
Education University of Huddersfield
OccupationActress
Years active2001–present
Notable work EastEnders (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-Unwin 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 , and voiced Simran Kaur in the radio soap opera Silver Street from 2004 to 2010.

Contents

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] 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 and Hollyoaks . [9] [10] In December 2019, she was cast in her first regular role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Suki Panesar. [11] Her first scene aired on 27 January 2020. [11] Suki's most notable storyline includes her on-off affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), which won several awards.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002Kidhaar!Reena1 episode
2004–2010 Silver Street Simran Kaur (voice)Radio soap opera
2008 White Girl FatimaTelevision film
2009 Coming Up SofiaEpisode: "Adha Cup"
2009, 2014, 2017–2018 Emmerdale Legal Aid Solicitor / DC Graves / DC Khan5 episodes
2010 Five Days Detainee's WifeEpisode: "Day 8"
Waterloo Road Doctor1 episode
2013, 2017 Coronation Street P.C. Marks4 episodes
2018 Call the Midwife Mumtaz Gani1 episode
Doctors Aafiyah ChoudaryEpisode: "Without and Within"
Hollyoaks Liz4 episodes
2020–present EastEnders Suki Panesar-Unwin Regular role
2023EastEnders: The SixHerself2 episodes

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005Anatomy of a CrimeDr AliFilm
2012Naachle LondonLaxmi Khan
PerfumeMamShort film
2014Honeycomb LodgeJas' Girlfriend

Stage

YearTitleRole
2001 The Beautiful Violin Bhelua
2004 Absent Friends Evelyn
2006 Relatively Speaking Ginny
2008Beast MarketVarious
2008MelaMariam
2009Table MannersAnnie
2009Counted?Various
2010The House of Bilquis BibiZainab
2010The Tales of the Narrow RoadMukti
2011BehnaMasi Ji
2012–2013 The Snow Queen Snow Queen/Goddess
2013Our Glass HouseSufiya
2014, 2016StowawaySalma/Debbie
2014Home Sweet HomeDaadi
2015The Deranged MarriageLata
2015Storm in a Chai CupReet
2015The EdgeThe Edge
2016SleeplessCosima Trevison
2017Running WildMum
2017PartitionDenise
2018The Thing that Came to DinnerMrs Caldwell
2018DeleteSue
2019Black Teeth and a Brilliant SmileMo
2019 My Beautiful Laundrette Bilquis/Moose

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2020 Inside Soap Awards Best VillainEastEndersLonglisted [12]
2020I Talk Telly AwardsBest Soap NewcomerEastEndersNominated [13]
2020 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best NewcomerEastEndersSecond [14]
2021 National Television Awards Serial Drama PerformanceEastEndersLonglisted [15]
2021Inside Soap AwardsBest ActressEastEndersNominated [16]
2021Inside Soap AwardsBest VillainEastEndersNominated [16]
2021Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest Actor (Female)EastEndersThird [17]
2022Asian Media AwardsBest TV CharacterEastEndersWon [18]
2022Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest Soap Couple (with Heather Peace)EastEndersSecond [19]
2023 National Television Awards Serial Drama PerformanceEastEndersLonglisted [20]
2023Inside Soap AwardsBest Partnership (with Peace)EastEndersShortlisted [21]
2023Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest ActorEastEndersFourth [22]
2023Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest Soap Couple (with Peace)EastEndersWon [22]
2024 RadioTimes.com Soap Awards Best ActorEastEndersNominated [23]
2024Inside Soap AwardsBest Partnership (with Peace)EastEndersShortlisted [24]
2024Inside Soap AwardsSoap SuperstarEastEndersWon [25]
2024I Talk Telly AwardsBest Soap Partnership (with Peace)EastEndersWon [26]
2024Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest ActorEastEndersWon [27]
2024Digital Spy Reader AwardsBest Soap Couple (with Peace)EastEndersSecond [27]

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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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "Spotlight: Balvinder Sopal". Spotlight. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Profiling: Balvinder Sopal". Dick and Lottie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "BBC Asian Network launches Silver Street - the nation's first Asian radio soap". BBC . 14 May 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Simran Kaur". BBC . Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "EastEnders casts Balvinder Sopal as Suki Kaur". Radio Times . Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. 1 2 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.
  12. ↑ Alexander, Susannah (15 September 2020). "Inside Soap Awards reveals full longlist for 2020's ceremony". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  13. ↑ Gonzalez, Elliot (8 November 2020). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2020 Nominees". I Talk Telly. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. 1 2 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.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ "Tenth Asian Media Awards Winners Announced In Manchester". Asian Media Awards. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  19. ↑ Rowan, Iona (27 December 2022). "EastEnders wins big at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2022". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Alexander, Susannah (19 September 2023). "Inside Soap Awards 2023 announces final shortlist for 2023 ceremony". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  22. 1 2 Zammitt, Erin (26 December 2023). "EastEnders sweeps the board at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2023". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Daly, Helen (9 May 2024). "RadioTimes.com Soap Awards 2024 nominations revealed". Radio Times . Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  24. ↑ Harp, Justin (24 September 2024). "Inside Soap Awards 2024 announces shortlist for star-studded ceremony". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  25. ↑ Sarrubba, Stefania (30 September 2024). "Coronation Street wins big at the Inside Soap Awards 2024". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 30 September 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  26. ↑ "Winners revealed for the 10th annual I Talk Telly Awards". I Talk Telly. 8 December 2024. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  27. 1 2 Rowan, Iona (25 December 2024). "Coronation Street cleans up at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2024". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
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