EastEnders star addresses ‘high stakes’ 40th anniversary storylines – saying actors are ‘kept in the dark’ about plots
A POPULAR EastEnders star has teased ‘high stakes’ for the show’s upcoming 40th anniversary storylines.
The BBC soap will be marking four decades on screen in February 2025.
Balvinder Sopal – who has played Suki Panesar since 2020 – admitted cast members, like the viewers, are “in the dark”.
Speaking on The One Show, she shared: “We can promise that it’s going to be exciting and it’s going to be high stakes.
“Lots of drama, emotional drama. We are also just as much in the dark as the public.
“We’re sort of finding out as we’re going along. But yeah, its EastEnders.
“We’re not going to let you down, are we?”
To mark the milestone, there will be a completely live episode of the BBC soap.
A show first will see viewers have the power to control the outcome of a love story.
In this interactive element, fans will take part in a vote during the special – airing in February.
The cast and crew will adapt to the answer selected by Beeb viewers.
EastEnders has previously aired live episodes in 2009 and 2015, respectively.
Discussing the special, executive producer Chris Clenshaw revealed: “The 40th anniversary is a milestone event for EastEnders, and we have been planning this week for a long time to ensure that it’s a week full of drama and surprises.
“In fact, as our regular audience will know, we have already seen the return of familiar faces and have many more nods to our history to come which will all build up to our momentous anniversary week.”
As Chris mentioned, iconic characters have reappeared in the lead-up to February’s celebrations.
This includes David Wicks (Michael French), Chrissy Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer).
In September, it was revealed Louisa Lytton would be reprising her role as Ruby Allen.
The scheming character was last seen in 2021, claiming to be pregnant with estranged husband Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) baby.
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It appears her return will cause chaos for Martin and Ruby’s old best friend Stacey (Lacey Turner).
Speaking about her comeback, Louisa said: “I am thrilled to have been asked back to the Square to revisit Ruby once more, and to shed some light on what the past three years have been like for her during her time away from Walford.
“I’ve always loved playing Ruby as there is never a dull moment and I cannot wait for everyone to see what Ruby has in store.”
EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available to watch on iPlayer.