Bisexual EastEnders character returns after three years with new actor in role
Sakira Vel will now play Ash Panesar (BBC)
EastEnders is bringing back Ash Panesar after three years off-screen, with Sakira Vel stepping into the role in a recast.
Ash was last seen in Walford in March 2023, when she left to take a job in Canada. The character will now return to Albert Square with Vel replacing Gurlaine Kaur Garcha, who played Ash from 2019 to 2023.
Vel said she was stunned when she landed the part: “When I got the call offering me the role, I don’t think I could truly believe it until I finally made it onto the Square!”
She added, as per The Sun: “EastEnders is an absolute television icon, and the show was essentially the backdrop to my childhood.”
Teasing what viewers can expect from Ash’s comeback, Vel said: “Taking on the role of Ash is a real honour and I cannot wait for the audience to see what we have in store as she dives straight into the Panesar family chaos.”
Ash Panesar’s return
Executive producer Ben Wadey suggested Ash’s return will have immediate consequences for the Panesars.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ash back to Walford and to have Sakira Vel join the EastEnders cast,” he said.
Wadey added: “With unresolved tensions still simmering between Ash and her family, her unexpected return is set to create new challenges for the Panesar family.”
Ash is part of the Panesar family, introduced during EastEnders’ late-2010s expansion of the Square’s newer families.
The bisexual character was introduced alongside girlfriend Iqra Ahmed (played by Priya Davdra).
The character has been involved in major family and relationship storylines, including some dealing with her sexuality in a Sikh family, that helped establish the Panesars as a central clan in the show.
Speaking in 2020, original actress Garcha told Eastern Eye: “It is nice to know when someone can relate to your role and storyline. It is very rewarding as an actor when you feel like you’re helping people and then giving them a sense of comfort, so they know they are not alone.”
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