EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal has hinted at a strong future for her character Suki Panesar’s relationship with Eve Unwin as the show enters its next era.
Fans are bracing themselves for potential changes to the long-running soap, as executive producer Chris Clenshaw stood down earlier this year after a successful and award-winning stint in charge.
Ben Wadey has taken over the position. Wadey most recently served as commissioning executive at Channel 4, overseeing shows like Hollyoaks, but also previously worked as a story producer on Holby City and story editor on EastEnders.
During his previous stint on EastEnders, Wadey worked on the show’s 35th anniversary celebrations and the introduction of the Panesar family.
🌐 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔.𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐 – 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍
Catching up with us at the British Soap Awards at the weekend, Balvinder promised a strong few months to come as EastEnders transitions into its next chapter.
She exclusively told us: “As always, there’s loads of twists and turns. We’ve got a new executive producer, who wants to put his own stamp on the show and he’s really brilliant. I’ve had lots of lovely chats with him.
“And I think we’re going to vamp it up a bit for the viewers. So expect lots of excitement, lots of thrills, lots of turns, twists. But yeah, we’re looking forward to a really exciting year.”
Asked whether Wadey is a fan of Suki and Eve, Balvinder replied: “Actually, Ben Wadey introduced Suki! So he’s definitely a fan of Suki.”
🌐 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔.𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐 – 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍
She joked: “Then the other day, he did to say to me, we’re his favourites. Not really! No, he is a fan, yeah. Absolutely. And we’ve got some wonderful stuff coming up.”
Speaking late last year, Chris Clenshaw commented: “I’m pleased to be passing the show on to Ben Wadey. I’m confident that, under him, EastEnders will continue to thrive, and I wish him the very best as it is without doubt the best job in telly and I hope he enjoys the ride just as much as I have.”
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The British Soap Awards 2025 took place at London’s Hackney Empire on Saturday night (31 May).
The ceremony airs on Thursday (5 June) from 8pm on ITV1.
