EastEnders newcomer Ayesha spells trouble for lesbian matriarch Suki

There could be trouble ahead for EastEnders’ fearsome lesbian matriarch Suki Panesar and her partner Eve, following the arrival of one of the former’s mysterious crushes, Ayesha.

Suki’s abusive ex-husband Nish (played by Navin Chowdry) hatched a plan to break up the pair by locating a woman from her past. 

Having discovered that Suki (Balvinder Sopal) and their son Vinny (Shiv Jalota) were plotting against him, terminally ill Nish decided to lure Ayesha Siddhu (played by Footballers’ Wives star Laila Rouass) to Walford.

In a shocking twist, it was revealed in Monday’s (5 August) episode that Ayesha is in fact a woman Suki had feelings for long ago, while in the early stages of her doomed marriage.

Fans of the long-running BBC soap, which will celebrate 40 years on air in 2025, knew that Nish had once killed a man named Hardeep, who he suspected of having an affair with Suki, but last year the businesswoman admitted that it was actually the man’s wife she had feelings for.

The woman in question, fans now know, was Ayesha. And it turns out that she too is now an out lesbian – and those feelings were secretly reciprocated.

The two queer characters then pledged to join forces to upend Nish. However, his scheming was not at an end. Just before the credits rolled, he dropped poison in the ear of Eve (Heather Peace), telling her that Suki and Ayesha were more than just good friends…

Speaking to Digital Spy, Rouass reflected on her arrival in the Square, and revealed whether she thinks there is any hope for Ayesha and Suki – despite Eve still being very much in the picture.

“Back when [the murder] happened, Ayesha’s biggest emotion was anger, and in that anger, there was no space to talk to Suki. So, there are lots of layers of emotions now she’s finally face-to-face with her again,” said Rouass, who has also been seen in E4 soap Hollyoaks, and BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City.

“Ayesha has got all these feelings for Suki that even she doesn’t understand,” she added, although she “definitely” believes Ayesha’s feelings are still romantic.

“There’s a kind of nostalgia when she seeks Suki for the bond they shared back then because her life is so different now. She’s trying to process these complicated emotions while coping with seeing the man who killed her husband.”

In tonight’s episode (6 August), viewers will see – spoiler alert – Eve propose to Suki as she begins to feel uncomfortable with Ayesha’s arrival.

As Eve watches the pair grow closer, she takes drastic action, getting down on one knee in the middle of the Queen Vic.

Rouass is also known for coming fourth in Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 and she recently made headlines by wading into the ongoing scandal surrounding the BBC dancing competition, reflecting on a derogatory comment made by her professional dance partner Anton du Beke at the time.

“I would like to address those incidents,” she wrote on Instagram. “Yes, Anton used derogatory words and it was unacceptable. Yes, Anton publicly apologised to me. Above all this, and most importantly, I do not believe Anton is racist or Islamphobic. If I believed he was, I would have refused to dance with him.”

EastEnders is on Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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