EastEnders Panasar family star's lives – Coronation Street, second job and hidden talent

Gray Atkins and Kheerat Panesar came face to face in a dramatic showdown in EastEnders, with Kheerat leaving Gray for dead after Gray confessed to killing Chantelle.

With Gray fighting for his life in hospital and Stacey Slater smuggling Kheerat into a car to escape the police, tensions are rising in Albert Square.

Will Gray’s villainous crimes finally be exposed? And will Kheerat be arrested by the police?

Since the Panesar family first joined EastEnders, they have become embroiled in a lot of huge storylines – but how will the family react when they discover what Kheerat has done?

As viewers wait to find out Kheerat’s fate, Daily Star takes a look at the lives of the stars who play the Panesar family.

Kheerat – Jaz Deol

Jaz Deol first joined EastEnders in 2019 as the handsome Kheerat Panesar, but before joining the soap, he has already had a long and successful acting career.

As well as appearing in a number of short films, he has appeared in TV series including The Halcyon, Love Sick and Code Of A Killer.

He also lent his voice to popular video games including Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, and is due to appear in the upcoming short film Mountain Of Light.

However, he has risen to new levels of fame as Kheerat Panesar – winning the award for Best TV Character 2021 at the Asian Media Awards, which he described at the ceremony as “surreal, emotional and overwhelming. In particular this one because it comes from MY community.”

Away from the soap, Jaz also has a second job as a property developer and in 2021, set up the firm JHD Homes.

He shared photographs of his company logo on social media, saying in an Instagram post: “And so it begins! Here is the my first BTL property in my portfolio.”

Jaz also shared a selfie following the company announcement, saying: “I call this photo – ‘the face you make when you’ve finally exchanged & completed.”

Suki – Balvinder Sopal

Shortly after the arrival of her three sons on Albert Square, Balvinder Sopal made her EastEnders debut as their mother Suki Panesar.

Although she was nominated for Best Villain at the 2020 Inside Soap Awards, Suki Panesar is not the first soap character that Balvinder has played.

In 2018, she played Liz in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, and from 2013-2017, starred as P.C Marks in Coronation Street.

Balvinder has also starred in TV programmes including Doctors, Emmerdale and Waterloo Road.

Away from her long acting career, Balvinder has also sent fans wild with her off-screen transformation selfies on social media.

In 2021 she shared a selfie on Instagram, which showed the star looking radiant as she smiled for the camera, with the caption: “Building the Beehive!! Happy Friday one and all.”

Fans flocked to comment on the selfie, with one saying: “Never mind the beehive, Balvinder it’s your mesmerising eyes that have me entranced.”

A second added: “Wow you are so so pretty as always,” while a third said: “Amazing look.”

Vinny – Shiv Jalota

Shiv Jalota made his EastEnders debut alongside Amar Adatia (Jags) and Jaz Deol (Kheerat) in 2019, as the youngest Panesar brother Vinny.

Vinny is Shiv’s first major TV role, following appearances in short films such as Heavy Weight.

Shortly before making his debut, the actor shared a sweet social media post featuring a photograph of him standing in front of the fictional Queen Vic pub, saying: “Watched this since I was a boy with the famo every Christmas, never did I think I’d be in it.”

Since joining the show he has also formed sweet bonds with his fellow EastEnders co-stars and paid tribute to Rose Ayling-Ellis following her Strictly Come Dancing Win on Twitter, saying: “YES LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE TO YOU.”

Shiv also sent fans into meltdown with a hunky holiday snap on Instagram, when the actor shared a photo of him topless in Greece – showing off his toned abs.

One fan said: “Wow, very, very handsome and gorgeous!” while a second added: “Fit as. Need to see you shirtless in EastEnders.”

Even his EastEnders co-stars could not believe the transformation, with Gurlaine Kaur Garcha who plays Ash Panesar saying: “Where’s Shiv gone? PHWOAAAARRRRRRR.”

Ash – Gurlaine Kaur Garcha

Gurlaine Kaur Garcha made her EastEnders debut in 2019 as Ash, the sister of Kheerat, Jags and Vinny.

The actress has had a number of roles of TV series including Holby City and Doctors before playing Ash Kaur, but after moving from a hidden behind the scenes role.

From 2015-2015, Gurlaine worked as a researcher for The Graham Norton Show, before moving to appear in front of the cameras herself.

Not only is she a talented actress, but she is also a trained kickboxer and was previously crowned the European Champion for Tae Kwon Do.

However landing her role on EastEnders was her dream job, telling Inside Soap: “It’s still surreal!

“I’ve been on the show for over a year, and continue to have moments where I think, I can’t believe I’m here.

“You get actors who want to go to Hollywood, but genuinely, my dream was to be in Walford with the likes of Jake Wood [Max Branning] and Adam Woodyatt [Ian Beale]. And now, my cast mates are like a second family.”

However, despite having a hugely successful career both on and off-screen, the actress prefers to keep her personal life private.

Jags – Amar Adatia

Amar Adatia joined EastEnders as one of the Panesar brothers in 2019, after a long acting career in TV series including Doctors and Brief Encounters.

However, Amar left EastEnders for good after his character Jags was murdered while serving time in prison in 2020.

Talking about his decision to leave the soap, he told MyLondon: “Being on a soap isn’t a long term ambition of mine. It’s been great and has been a paddle stool and I’ve meet some amazing people but I want to do other things.”

One of his passions is producing and making films, and since leaving EastEnders, Amar has made the film Override starring Hollywood actor and former Bros star Luke Goss, as well as Superman actor Dean Cain.

The film has gone on to critical acclaim, with Amar planning to make more films in the future, saying: “I’ve done all those roles because I am a big guy but ultimately I wanted to do something different, hence why I wanted to write my own script and act and produce my own films.”

However, he has not left acting behind all together, with the star listed as appearing in TV film Deranged, which has just completed production.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk