EastEnders fans fear for show favourite as newcomer makes dramatic Walford arrival
EASTENDERS fans fear that power couple Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin are under threat after the arrival of Ayesha.
Actress Laila Rouass, who is best-known for her roles in Holby City, Primeval and Footballer’s Wives, made her debut as Ayesha for a guest stint on the BBC soap.
Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) had planned an unexpected guest to surprise his ex wife Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) in tonight’s episode of EastEnders.
Viewers soon learn that Ayesha is the widow of Hardeep, who Nish murdered 20 years ago.
Nish claimed he wanted to contact Ayesha to clear his guilty conscience before he died, however, it appears Nish wants to use Ayesha to get between Suki and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace).
Suki was stunned to see Ayesha after all this time, but it’s not a happy reunion as Ayesha riled at Nish for his crime before fleeing.
Suki chased after her and made a shocking confession that she had feelings for Ayesha, and not her husband Hardeep like Nish suspected.
Ayesha was shocked as Suki blamed herself for Hardeep’s death.
But then Suki was floored to learn Ayesha also had feelings for her and is now a proud gay woman.
Could the pair finally be together? Should Eve be worried?
Later, the pair headed to The Vic for a drink with Eve where Nish spied an opportunity to meddle as he planted a seed of doubt in Eve’s head about their close bond.
Upcoming scenes will see Eve get irritated when Suki continues to praise Ayesha.
Eve confides in Stacey about her worries, but Stacey (Lacey Turner) reckons that Nish is manipulating the situation.
After a run-in in the café with Nish, Eve makes a decision and heads to The Vic to propose to Suki in front of Ayesha, Stacey and the Panesars.
Will Suki say yes to Eve’s proposal? Has Nish’s scheme backfired?
Discussing her role, Laila said: “I cannot tell you how excited I am to be in EastEnders!
Best soap affair love triangles
LOVE triangles are a fundamental part of soap-land, but which ones have become the most iconic?
EASTENDERS
Bradley/Stacey/Max: Stacey Slater began an affair with boyfriend Bradley Branning’s dad Max in 2007.
Despite their romps, Stacey still married Bradley, but their deceit came out in an iconic Christmas Day episode that year.
Grant/Sharon/Phil: Heading even further back in Walford history, EastEnders fans were gripped in the 90s as Sharon Watts had a one-night stand with her brother-in-law Phil Mitchell.
Sharon confided in best friend Michelle Fowler – not realising it was caught on tape – and her husband Grant eventually found out and played it in front of everyone at the Queen Vic.
Syed/Amira/Christian: Syed Masood was engaged to Amira before realising he had feelings for another man, Christian, which he confessed to him on his wedding day.
A devout Muslim, Syed refused to admit his true sexuality and went ahead and married Amira anyway, but when they returned, the two men started an affair before being caught in the act by Amira.
CORONATION STREET
Shelley/Peter/Lucy: Peter Barlow took the concept of a love triangle and ran with it in Coronation Street – extending it to bigamy.
He was in a relationship with Shelley Unwin but started dating Lucy Richards, and quickly married her after she fell pregnant with his son, Simon.
But it didn’t stop him also marrying Shelley, but he was eventually caught when Lucy turned up in Weatherfield and the two women confronted him.
Ken/Deidre/Mike: Back in 1982, Deirdre Barlow started sleeping with her husband’s nemesis Mike Baldwin in secret, before confessing all a year later.
When Mike turned up at the marital home, Deirdre was being throttled by her husband who then kicked her out, but years later they reconciled.
Maria/Aidan/Eva: In 2017, Aidan Connor started sleeping with girlfriend Eva Price’s best friend, Maria Connor.
Eva eventually found out and she decided to take revenge by faking a pregnancy, spending his money and planned to confront him on their wedding day.
But she had a change of heart when a remorseful Aidan confessed, and decided to marry him anyway, only for Maria to arrive and expose her fake pregnancy.
EMMERDALE
Ross/Debbie/Pete: Debbie Dingle found herself torn between two brothers, Ross and Pete Barton in 2015 in Emmerdale.
She eventually decided to marry Pete but yet again, a soap wedding day was ruined when the groom learned of his bride’s betrayal via a recording played at the wedding.
Chrissie/Robert/Aaron: Robert Sugden was married to Chrissie White and all seemed well – until he began a steamy affair with Aaron Dingle.
Robert’s ex Katie Sugden almost exposed the affair – but fell to her death before she had the chance.
However, a guilty Aaron eventually cracked and told Chrissie about the affair – after which she announced it to the whole pub.
“I was born in the East End and grew up there, and there was such a buzz when the show started.
“Even though I was little at the time, I can clearly remember the first episode and Doctor Legg arriving at the flat where Reg Cox had been murdered.
“I’ve also known Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar) for many years, so it was great to work with him again and to do scenes with Balvinder Sopal (Suki Panesar) and the rest of the Panesars as Ayesha reunites with them.
“This is a lifelong dream come true!”
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer.
