Navin Chowdhry speaks out on Nish’s EastEnders exit as co-stars pay tribute to ‘phenomenal actor’
This week has seen Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) bow out of EastEnders for good after tormenting Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) for over two years.
The iconic villain met a grisly end on New Year’s Day when he was pushed from a balcony by son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), and was pronounced dead at the scene.
During his time on the Square, Nish has caused chaos in countless people’s lives.
He wormed his way back into Suki’s life after being released from prison in 2022, took on Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) in a bid to expand his business empire, and was diagnosed with a terminal illness ahead of his exit.
However, actor Navin has revealed that his favourite storyline to play was the one that saw Nish knocked unconscious by Denise Fox (Diane Parish) on Christmas Day 2023.
‘My favourite would have to be the Sixmas story,’ he revealed. ‘That was a flagship event for the whole show.
‘There was so much hype and speculation beforehand in the press, but also between us as actors as none of us knew what was going on for a large part of it.
‘So, to be a part of that storyline, but to be the body on The Vic floor; a moment that had been publicised for the best part of a year is something that I think will always make me smile.
‘That was just a wonderful gift, and to work with all of The Six was incredible. I’ve got a real love and affection for all of them. We were all looking at each other thinking “this is massive”.’
Speaking about his exit, Navin said: ‘I have loved it. My last day of filming was a very emotional one. God forbid if they put the behind the scenes footage out. [Laughs]
‘There were tears from quite a lot of us on the day. I’m even feeling quite emotional talking about it now because it’s meant so much to be a part of this journey.’
Navin’s time on EastEnders has seen him work closely with Balvinder Sopal and Heather Peace, as well as members of the wider Panesar family.
His co-stars were quick to take to social media to pay tribute to his work on the show, with Vinny Panesar actor Shiv Jalota writing: ‘A mentor, friend, father and brother. The universe works in beautiful ways.
‘It has been an honour to share the screen with you on screen and off. A fitting closing chapter. You have left a legacy that won’t be forgotten in the history of EastEnders. The journey has only begun. Big love man.’
Meanwhile, Suki star Balvinder also wrote a heartfelt statement.
‘To this gent of a man, phenomenal actor and beautiful human being. We laughed so hard, and… we cried. We took the absolute mick out of each other daily, but we knew exactly how to play… and you played so brilliantly, my friend.
‘Take a bow Navin – you crafted and portrayed Nish to spellbinding perfection.
‘Honoured doesn’t even come close to how I felt sharing a screen with you.’
Navin was also full of love and praise for his fellow cast, revealing that working with them had been ‘a dream’.
‘I feel tearful now just thinking about it. It was instant chemistry with every single one of them from the beginning. I can remember vividly my first scene with all of them.
Navin shared a lot of love for his co-stars (Picture: BBC)
‘I started with Aaron first and then with Shiv. They have been like sons, younger brothers, and the most beautiful friends to me. My last scene on the shoot was with them on location, and that again, was this wonderful circular, beautiful way to end.
‘Heather, I can remember our first scene in The Vic, and we looked at each other, and we just knew that there was tension between our characters. I must stress not between Navin and Heather because I adore her, but between Nish and Eve. When I came on board I didn’t know it was going to be so fixated on this love triangle, as there were lots of things, but it just clicked.
‘And with Bal, it’s been an absolute joy. We’ve had such a laugh, there’s so much love, there’s been tears, there’s been joy. It’s never felt unnatural. It has always just felt so easy and comfortable to explore what we wanted to do.
‘It doesn’t happen all the time, and I just feel incredibly lucky for the collection of people that were put together. There was so much love and respect, and laughter amongst our group.’
