Suki Panesar-Unwin takes drastic action in EastEnders next week when she offers Ria's birth mother Harleen a large sum of cash to drop her challenge to the adoption, a move that sets off devastating consequences.
Suki and Eve Panesar-Unwin (Balvinder Sopal and Heather Peace) have been caring for Ria Virdi (Aaria Sharma), and next week brings the final meeting to confirm the adoption. However, an obstacle emerged last week when Harleen (Taniya Jamil), Ria's birth mum, decided she wanted Ria back after witnessing a skirmish between Suki and her recently returned daughter Ash (Sakira Vel).
Suki's Guilt Drives Her Actions
Balvinder Sopal said: 'Suki was already sceptical about meeting Harleen and, unfortunately, her concerns proved justified. Suki feels guilty about what happened, and that guilt drives her actions this week, we see flashes of the old Suki emerge, but things don't necessarily go the way she expects.'
When Harleen re-emerges and contests the adoption, Suki turns to her old ways and offers her cash to back off, which Harleen agrees to on the condition she can see her daughter one last time.
A Final Meeting with Ria
'Suki is torn between protecting what she wants and doing what she believes is right,' Sopal said. 'The old Suki would have focused solely on the outcome she wanted, but she's changed, her maternal instincts take over, and she recognises that Harleen deserves the chance to say goodbye.'
'Suki knows she's playing with fire by allowing Harleen one final meeting with Ria. Part of her believes she can handle whatever comes next, but she's also hoping it will draw a line under the situation and allow her and Eve to move forward.'
After the meeting, Suki heads to the adoption hearing at court, where she takes the stand and makes an impassioned plea. Later, Ash is forced to cover for Suki having accessed Harleen's medical records to get her address.
Ash Discovers the Deal
Ash later discovers the deal Suki made with Harleen, including the payment, opening a new can of worms within an already fraught relationship. 'There's a lot of unresolved hurt between Suki and Ash – the difficulty is that both of them feel they're owed an apology.'
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday, November 16 at 7.30pm on BBC One or streams first from 6am on iPlayer.
