EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal has assured fans that Suki Panesar will still appear in the BBC One soap while she takes part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
The actor is taking part in the 2025 season of the BBC One dance competition, and she's confirmed that her character won't be temporarily written out while she does so.
However, we'll understandably be seeing less of Suki over the next few months.
"It will be a sort of reduced schedule, but I am working there," she said (via Radio Times).
"And actually, I quite like the idea that I get to do both. Strictly and EastEnders have a really great relationship. We always have somebody from the show on Strictly, so they're very mindful."
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Previous EastEnders actors to take part in Strictly include Bobby Brazier (runner-up), Davood Ghadami (quarter-finalist), Kellie Bright (runner-up), Emma Barton (finalist), and Rose Ayling-Ellis (winner).
While it's far too early to tell how well Balvinder will do in the competition, she did touch on how she will be quite critical of herself, describing herself as a "perfectionist".
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The star stated: "I think the scrutiny will come from me first before anybody else. Even when I get my lines, I'm like, 'Why this word? Why not that word? OK, I've got to make this work'.
"So I need to try and understand this language that we're going to be speaking now because it is like another language. So, for me, I can't think about the scrutiny of anyone else, because then I think I will just fall flat on my backside."
Meanwhile, Vinny Panesar actor Shiv Jalota has teased that his character has some big storylines coming up, including drama with Suki and potentially a partner.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on 20 September on BBC One and iPlayer. Strictly: It Takes Two will be back on weekdays on BBC Two.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
