An EastEnders star has said that she is ‘unbelievably proud’ of her young co-star over the rising star’s ‘heartbreaking’ performance on the programme.
This week’s batch of episodes of the BBC soap have focused on teenage character Avani Nandra-Hart, who has found herself in the middle of an upsetting storyline.
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Played by Aaliyah James, 24, the daughter of Ravi Gulati and Priya Nandra-Hart is currently at the centre of a storyline that saw her strip-searched at a police station.
Police suspected Avani of being in possession of drugs after they spotted a bag of pills near her, which belonged to Marvin, a boy who sold her vapes last year.
In scenes aired on Tuesday, Avani refused the offer of having an appropriate adult in the room before being strip-searched. Avani eventually returned home to her mum Priya, who was furious upon learning what happened.
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The episode concluded with Priya furious at Jack Branning, who didn’t bring Avani with her when he collected his daughter Amy from the police station. While poor Avani snapped at her mum and friends before crying at home on her own.
With Aaliyah featured in the majority of the episode, her on-screen mum Sophie Shaheen Khan Levy took to Instagram with a series of photos of them as she praised her acting skills.
Sophie Khan Levy posted a tribute to her on-screen daugther Aaliyah James(Image: Instagram: @sophiekhanlevy)
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She captioned the post: “Appreciation post for this one! Unbelievably proud of you for taking on such an important and difficult storyline and playing it heartbreakingly well.
“This is why I love being part of a soap. Watching you grow as a performer while Avani grows as a character is something very special and I feel very very lucky! You are a brilliant actor and I absolutely LOVE playing your onscreen mama.
“ps. Thank you for letting me test drive my parenting skills before hopefully having my own one day.”
The comments section of the post saw Sophie’s friends and followers commending both her and Aaliyah for their work on the powerful episode.
Denise Fox actress @officialdianeparish said: “What a duo! You ladies were (fire emoji) tonight.” @dr.nora.uk added: “I am OBSESSED with this storyline both incredible!!! loved watching you both.”
@Dcpandya wrote: “Avani wow! I literally couldn’t stop sobbing! To think this really happens what a brill little actress! The both of you were fab?” @Hatdorable posted: “Absolutely brilliant performances from one and all.”
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@S_ameena.c commented: “The best episode I have seen in the longest time!!! Fantastic performance by both. @sophiekhanlevy & @aaliyahjames._ felt every emotion! The episode of the year!!” @Joleonard_93 stated: “That was bloody brilliant the last two eps.”
Despite playing a teenager, Aaliyah is just eleven years younger than Sophie. The pair joined EastEnders in October 2023 and have been two fan favourites ever since.
