Dressed as an ethereal underwater siren, Balvinder Sopal moved with poised defiance across the Strictly Come Dancing floor on Saturday night, clinging to professional partner Julian Caillon while beaming at judges' praise. Yet within 24 hours, her smile turned to stunned disbelief as she faced her third dance-off in five weeks.
The 46-year-old EastEnders actress, who plays Suki Panesar, has become one of this year's most consistent performers, delivering solid routines week after week. Despite impressing viewers and judges alike, she continues to struggle with public voting, having now appeared in three of the five dance-offs so far.
While judges have repeatedly saved her against competitors including Ross King, Chris Robshaw and Ellie Goldstein, fans are questioning why such a capable dancer keeps finding herself in the dreaded bottom two.
Five Factors Behind the Voting Struggle
Stagnant Scoring Despite Improvement
Viewers typically reward visible progression, but Balvinder's judges' scores haven't reflected her clear development. For three consecutive weeks, she's received identical scores of 28 points - four '7s' from each judge.
This scoring seems contradictory to the judges' comments, with head judge Shirley Ballas telling her she'd done 'very, very well indeed' and specifically highlighting her 'progress.'
Speaking on Strictly's spin-off show It Takes Two, Balvinder expressed confusion: 'I'm trying to get my head around it. 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.'
She revealed the emotional toll, describing how she'd 'thrown the towel in' during training and sat crying in a corner before her rumba performance. An observer noted that the judges' inconsistent feedback has significantly impacted her confidence.
Professional Partner Challenges
The Newcomer Factor
While celebrities are the focus of public voting, longstanding Strictly professionals bring their own established fanbases. Balvinder's pairing with Julian Caillon - one of this year's two new professional dancers - always presented a voting challenge.
Seasoned professionals like Johannes Radebe, Katya Jones, and Dianne Buswell arrive with ready-made support networks that can boost their celebrity partners' votes. Julian, though an experienced dancer from Australia's Dancing With the Stars, remains largely unknown to British audiences.
A show source confirmed: 'There's always a clamour to get the most popular professionals every year. The professionals obviously always want a good celebrity partner, but it works both ways.'
Character Versus Reality
The EastEnders Persona Problem
Balvinder's character Suki Panesar arrived in Albert Square during COVID as a formidable battleaxe, though the character has since revealed vulnerability and begun a same-sex relationship with Eve Unwin that's been praised by critics.
However, this creates a common problem for actors joining reality shows after long-running roles - viewers struggle to separate the performer from their character.
Balvinder herself admitted she's 'quite reserved,' contrasting sharply with Suki's bold personality. Shirley Ballas observed she appeared 'hesitant and nervous' in early shows.
One viewer noted: '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.'
Private Life Versus Open Books
The Personal Connection Gap
While Balvinder maintains an Instagram account with 83,000 followers, she primarily shares work-related content from EastEnders. She offers occasional glimpses of her life in Medway, Kent, where she grew up and still lives, but keeps her personal life largely private.
This contrasts with several competitors this series, including reality stars Vicky Pattison and George Clarke, whose lives have been open books for years, creating stronger connections with voters.
A heartwarming moment occurred when her nieces Amelia and Florence joined her and Julian for Halloween crafting, showing the potential for personal connections that could sway voters.
The Training Grey Area
Neither Novice Nor Professional
Strictly's perennial debate about prior dance training creates another hurdle. While clearly trained performers like Amber Davies and Lewis Cope face voter skepticism, complete beginners often gain underdog support.
Balvinder occupies a middle ground - though not formally dance trained, her stage background in productions like The Beautiful Violin and Absent Friends, plus roles in Coronation Street and Emmerdale, provide performance experience.
An insider explained: '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.'
Despite being tipped for elimination this weekend, Balvinder's steady progression and growing viewer support suggest she might still turn her Strictly journey around. As she stated: '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.'
