EastEnders star teases 40th anniversary drama and makes BBC vow on The One Show

EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, who's known for her role as Suki Panesar, has tantalised fans with the promise of "lots of drama" and "high stakes" ahead of the BBC soap's momentous 40th anniversary celebrations.

The iconic serial drama, which hit screens in February 1985, is ramping up for a truly spectacular commemoration, with producers pulling out all the stops and announcing that they're not only airing a live episode to mark four decades on screen but also adding a unique interactive twistviewers will be handed the power to determine the narrative direction of a key plotline.

The innovation for this milestone includes a first-of-its-kind approach allowing the audience to vote and control the resolution of a love story, details of which are being kept under locks.

Whatever decision the viewers make, it will unfold on-screen during the live broadcast, with the EastEnders team poised to pivot the script accordingly to reflect the public's choice.

Appearing alongside Navin Chowdhry, alias Nish Panesar, Balvinder aired on BBC's The One Show on Wednesday (October 30), talking about their current on-screen happenings.

But, the conversation invariably turned towards the 40th-anniversary plans when hosts Vernon Kay and Clara Amfo prodded for insider insights.

Vernon enquired: "It's the 40th anniversary as well coming up. There's going to be a live episode to celebrate the 40th anniversary, can you give us any inside info? Not too much obviously but have you got the storyline yet?".

Balvinder teased excitedly: "We can promise it's going to be exciting and it's going to be high stakes and lots of drama, emotional drama, but we're almost just in the dark as much as the public.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

"We're sort of finding out as we go along but it's EastEnders. we're not going to let you down are we? " Clara also chimed in with: "Anything can happen and that's why we love it."

Back in the day of 2010, EastEnders first experimented with a live broadcast during its 25th anniversary whereby the bombshell dropped that Stacey Slater (played by Lacey Turner) was the murderer of Archie Mitchell (portrayed by Larry Lamb).

The beloved soap dabbled once more in live airing for its 30th anniversary in 2015; this time through a gripping series of five episodes all containing live parts, culminating in the grand reveal of the murderer in the 'Who Killed Lucy Beale?' storyline.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am

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