Juhaim Rasul Choudhury has teased what’s in store for the Panesar family going forward in EastEnders.
Since he set foot on Albert Square three years ago alongside his villainous dad, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), Davinder ‘Nugget’ Gulati, hasn’t had the easiest ride.
A member of the perennially drama-plagued Panesar family, though initially unknowing of his true lineage, Nugget has had his fair share of ups and downs in Walford.
Tracking down his estranged mother and secret younger half-sister, Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy) and Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James), becoming a pawn in evil Nish Panesar‘s (Navin Chowdhry) cruel games and being left with kidney failure after abusing steroids, poor Nugget has been through the ringer.
But what’s next for Nugget? When asked about what’s coming up for the Panesar dynasty, Juhaim said: ‘There’s a lot going on with Ravi right now with Okie and Harry Mitchell and affecting Kojo.
What happens sends a lot of shockwaves in the Panesar family, definitely. Right now the Panesars are quite united, strong, together, but there’ll be shockwaves in the family and it rocks them and they’re a bit dazed. It’s exciting.’
Viewers know how deeply entangled Ravi has become in the criminal underworld with his drug operation become more dangerous by the day.
Ravi launched the racket after Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) wiped out the his family businesses, leaving the Panesar’s close to financial ruin, though as he crosses rival narcotics gangs with his dealing, the danger is ramping up.
In a clash with Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington), she took the time to remind Ravi just how much he has on the line, should anything go wrong, leaving him deeply shaken when his family sat down to dinner that night.
Could Nugget get wrapped up in his shady operation?
Elsewhere in the Panesar family, Suki (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Panesar-Unwin (Heather Peace) are planning to expand their family by adopting. Speaking on that story, Juhaim said: ‘There’s a lot of members of the family already and we’re all about to move back to 41. 41 always has some sort of drama and tension, so if they do adopt there’s a lot to bring a child into.
If they do do that, it’s going to be something we’re going to explore. But for now there’s a lot to deal with in general, so we’ll leave it at that.’
When asked about his personal highlights of being a part of EastEnders, Juhaim took the time to heap praise on his co-star, Max Murray, who plays dangerous Joel Marshall.
‘I’ve been really proud of Max Murray playing Joel. It’s a very topical subject right now, young men and the effects of social media. There’s something coming up in the near future that addresses that even more.
‘I’m so proud of him, he’s a good friend and he’s so dedicated and headstrong, for such a young age as well. He’s someone who pushes me and I try to push him as well. I’m very happy for him.
‘What we do explore is it starts conversations in the Square about how much things have changed from when EastEnders started, from the height of popularity of EastEnders and the conversations and society then.
‘So much has changed on social media. It’s a very interesting subject that’s about to come up.’
When asked if Nugget will play a part in the climax of Joel’s dark story, Juhaim said: ‘A little bit.
‘We like to explore two sides of Nugget, a very serious side or a very fun side. He adds a little fun to a very dark story.’