EastEnders viewers were taken aback upon discovering that Sophie Khan Levy, who portrays Priya Nandra-Hart, has a highly renowned mother. Priya (Sophie Khan Levy) arrived in Walford last year with her daughter Avani (Aaliyah James), as the former girlfriend and child of Ravi (Aaron Thiara).
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At that point, Ravi was oblivious to the fact he had a secret daughter, leaving him and the entire Panesar family in shock. It wasn’t long before Priya and Avani stirred up a fair amount of drama.
Between the Panesar family disputes and Priya’s own romantic complications, Priya and Avani’s stint in the square has been anything but calm. This week on the soap, Priya found herself rallying around Avani, following the near-death experience of her ill-tempered grandfather Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), who is battling a terminal illness
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Off-screen, actress Sophie Khan Levy 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, reports the Mirror.
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 last year: “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.”
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