Dressed as an ethereal underwater siren, Balvinder Sopal was poised and defiant as she glided around the dancefloor on Saturday night’s Strictly Come Dancing.
She clung to partner Julian Caillon and couldn’t help but grin as the judges praised her progress and hard work, with viewers quick to champion her on social media.
But just one day later and Balvinder’s smile had turned to a laugh of incredulity as it was revealed that she would have to compete in the dance-off for a third time.
Despite being one the most consistent of this year’s line-up, delivering good dances week after week, and impressing viewers, the EastEnders actress, 46, has not been getting the votes she needs.
Balvinder, who has played Suki Panesar on the BBC soap since 2020, avoided the first dance-off of the series, but has now been in a staggering three of out five.
She was saved by the judges when she went up against Ross King, Chris Robshaw and Ellie Goldstein, but viewers have been questioning why she’s been having to compete in the dance-off at all.
Strictly’s Balvinder Sopal continues to land in the dreaded dance off despite her impressive routines (pictured with pro partner Julian Caillon)
Here are FIVE reasons EastEnders star is failing to land much needed viewers votes
While the quality of the performance and the week-on-week progression are certainly factors in the voting public’s decision, unfortunately there is rather more at play.
Here are the five reason why Balvinder keeps having to compete in the dance-off.
Her scores have stagnated
Viewers like to see progression, and while Balvinder is certainly better now than she was at the beginning of the series, the judges’ scores don’t reflect that.
The actress has been given exactly the same score for the last three weeks in a row: four very middle-of-the-road ‘7s’ from all four judges, making a total of 28.
But, the scores don’t seem to tally with the judges’ comments, with Shirley Ballas telling her on Saturday that she did ‘very, very well indeed’ and even highlighted her ‘progress.’
‘I’m trying to get my head around it,’ said Balvinder on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two this week.
‘If you can see improvement that warrants a little bit of a better score than we got last week, so I don’t know where exactly the judges sit and what exactly they’re looking for.’
Her scores have stagnated: Viewers like to see progression, and while Balvinder is certainly better now than she was at the beginning of the series, the judges’ scores don’t reflect that.
The actress has been given exactly the same score for the last three weeks in a row: four very middle-of-the-road ‘7s’ from all four judges, making a total of 28
But, the scores don’t seem to tally with the judges’ comments, with Shirley Ballas telling her on Saturday that she did ‘very, very well indeed’ and even highlighted her ‘progress.’
She added: ‘At this point I’m a little bit confused and I’m just going to go out there week on week, for however long I’m here and just dance to my heart’s content because that’s all I’ve got control of.’
Balvinder admitted that she’d been proud of last week’s rumba, and had worked so hard that she had almost given up.
‘Literally on Tuesday I’d thrown the towel in and went, “I can’t do it,” I’d sat in the corner and cried,’ she said.
One observer said: ‘The fact that we’ve all been saying this and even Bal has felt brave enough to put it out there… the judges are a huge reason her confidence is so low and that’s actually not right.’
Her partner is a new professional
While the celebrities are the ones viewers are supposed to be voting for, it’s no secret that long-time Strictly fans are just as enamoured with the professionals.
Many of the fan favourites, such as Johannes Radebe, Katya Jones, Karen Hauer, Dianne Buswell and Amy Dowden are better known to viewers than the celebrities they’re paired with.
Her partner is a new professional: While the celebrities are the ones viewers are supposed to be voting for, it’s no secret that Strictly fans are just as enamoured with the professionals
So, for Balvinder, being paired with Julian – one of this year’s two newcomers – was always going to be a risk
So, for Balvinder, being paired with Julian – one of this year’s two newcomers – was always going to be a risk.
Being coupled up with one of the long-standing show professionals is always a big win for any celebrity each year, as they come along with their own established fanbase.
‘There’s always a clamour to get the most popular professionals every year,’ said a source. ‘The professionals obviously always want a good celebrity partner, but it works both ways.’
While Julian is a seasoned dancer, who made a name for himself down under as a professional on Australia’s Dancing With the Stars, he’s an unknown to British viewers.
She’s better known as her character
Suki is a big character in EastEnders, and came in hot to Albert Square during Covid, initially appearing as a battleaxe who was over-protective of her children and not someone to cross.
The character has become increasingly more vulnerable and started a same-sex relationship with Eve Unwin, which has been well-received by viewers and critics alike.
She’s better known as her character: Suki is a big character in EastEnders (pictured) and came in hot to Albert Square during Covid, initially appearing as a battleaxe
But, the problem that many actors and actresses have when they appear on reality shows following long stints on one programme, is that viewers expect them to be their character
She is now considered one of the most popular characters on the long-running soap.
But, the problem that many actors and actresses have when they appear on reality shows following long stints on one programme, is that viewers expect them to be their character.
‘I’m someone who’s quite reserved,’ Balvinder said in an early VT on Strictly, while Shirley observed last week that she’d appeared ‘hesitant and nervous’ at the start of the show.
‘Balvinder doesn’t have an audience outside of EastEnders and because Strictly always has been and always will be a popularity contest, people prior to the show only had an attachment to her character Suki and not Balvinder herself,’ one viewer observed.
Little is known about her personal life
Although Balvinder has an Instagram account and 83,000 followers, she uses it mainly for pictures and videos pertaining to her work on EastEnders.
She occasionally offers snapshots of her home life – she lives in Medway, Kent, which is where she also grew up – but she’s offered up little information about her personal life.
Little is known about her personal life: The problem that many actors and actresses have when they appear on reality shows following long stints on one programme
Many of the contestants on this year’s line-up are reality or social media stars, including Vicky Pattison and George Clarke, whose personal lives have been open books for many years
One of the most heartwarming segments on Strictly was when she and Julian were joined by her adorable nieces Amelia and Florence – the daughters of her sister Majeet – to do Halloween crafting last week.
Many of the contestants on this year’s line-up are reality or social media stars, including Vicky Pattison and George Clarke, whose personal lives have been open books for many years, and as a result, viewers feel as if they know them better.
Not trained but not a complete novice
One of the sticking points every year on Strictly is who has and who hasn’t received dance training prior to taking part on the show.
While some don’t care either way, many viewers feel it’s unfair for those who have been professionally trained to compete against people who have never danced before.
For the likes of Amber Davies and Lewis Cope, who have appeared in West End musicals and productions, it is rather clear cut.
Not trained but not a complete novice: One of the sticking points every year on Strictly is who has and who hasn’t received dance training prior to taking part on the show
For the likes of Amber Davies (pictured) and Lewis Cope, who have appeared in West End musicals and productions, it is rather clear cut
And while it doesn’t appear that Balvinder has been dance trained, actors and actresses always fall into a grey area as they have performance training.
She started her career on the stage – appearing in productions of The Beautiful Violin, Absent Friends and Relatively Speaking – and has appeared in a number of soap roles including Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
‘Bal certainly doesn’t fall into the category of trained dancer like some of them, but neither is she a complete underdog like Chris Robshaw or Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with no performance experience,’ said an insider.
She might be odds-on to go this weekend, but with viewers rallying around her and her dancing ability progressing steadily every week, Balvinder might still have time to turn it all around.
