EastEnders fans have been left stunned – but for once it isn’t at the latest cliffhanger in the BBC soap.
Priya (Sophie Khan Levy) arrived in Walford in 2023 with her daughter Avani (Aaliyah James), as the former girlfriend and child of Ravi (Aaron Thiara).
Sophie, 35, has become a familiar face among EastEnders’ loyal fanbase as she made her name on the square as the mum of two, but now it turns out there’s one more face in her family that viewers are just cottoning on to. Sophie is no newcomer to the limelight.
In 2023, she took on the role of Gabrielle Ade in the chilling true BBC drama, The Sixth Commandment.
She also portrayed Florence Pandhi in the veterinary drama All Creatures Great and Small in 2022 and Beth in James Corden’s Amazon Prime series Mammals. However, fans have recently discovered that Sophie has a rather famous family member, as we previously reported.
Sophie’s mother is Shaheen Khan, best known for her role as Mrs Bhamra in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham. She also played Kiran Joghill in BBC’s medical soap drama Casualty in the late ’80s, and has appeared in shows such as BBC’s Doctors and Doctor Who.
Fans have been left stunned to discover that Shaheen is the real-life mother of Sophie, with one TikTok user commenting: “Omg didn’t know the bend it like Beckham mum was her mum.”
Another fan expressed their surprise, saying: “I didn’t know this, I love the film bend it like Beckham and she’s so good as priya.”
A third shared their reaction: “The way I went and told everyone in my household they’re mother and daughter in real life, so surprised.”
When speaking about her role on EastEnders, Sophie enthused in 2023: “I’m super excited to be joining the show, and I can’t wait to see what trouble Priya gets herself into! ” She added, “I watched EastEnders when I was growing up, so to see so many familiar faces and to walk onto the set is a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, on screen, when Priya first arrived, Rami was oblivious to the fact he had a secret daughter, leaving him and the entire Panesar family in shock and paving the way for drama.
However after the tough start, the parents are now co-parenting Avani and brother Davinder (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury).