Priya Nandra-Hart

Priya Nandra-Hart is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Khan Levy. Priya was introduced into the serial in episode 6789, originally broadcast on 16 October 2023. The character is devised as part of Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury)'s backstories in a plot-twist that would introduce Nugget's mother and a secret daughter for Ravi. Khan Levy's character and casting details were both announced on 21 September 2023. Priya is revealed to be looking after her estranged son Nugget, who had gone missing at the time after a dispute with his father and Priya's ex-boyfriend Ravi from what was described as a "bittersweet" break-up years prior, where she left Ravi and Nugget to provide for her unborn daughter Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James), also fathered by Ravi but was however unbeknownst to him or Avani. It was later revealed in a plot-twist Priya had not walked out on them – Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam), the adoptive father of Ravi, sexually assaulted Priya and enforced her exit from his family – Priya struck a cord with Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) as they have similar experiences with Ranveer prior to them meeting.

Her storylines have focused on her surprising arrival and reuniting with her son Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) after years estranged; hiding a secret daughter Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) from Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara); her one-night-stand with Peter Beale (Thomas Law) upon arrival; revealing Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam) sexually assaulted her and then forced her to leave; settling into the Panesar family; her feuds with Ravi, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton), Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) and Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) and her relationships with Ravi, Martin Fowler (James Bye) and Nish.

Storylines
Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) reconnects with Priya off-screen after his step-grandmother Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) reveals that his father Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) had murdered his adoptive grandfather Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam). Nugget makes contact with Suki to bring food to an apartment in Brixton. Suki eventually leads Ravi, Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) to Nugget, where it is revealed he is staying with Priya. Priya refuses to let Nugget leave as she accuses the Panesars of neglect, but they all go back to the square. After failing to convince Nugget to come back, the Panesars end up in a row. Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) arrives on the square and Priya gives Ravi the bombshell that Avani is his estranged daughter. The next day, Priya and Avani arrive on the square after being evicted. Nish offers to let them stay. She later reveals to Ravi after arguing in the kitchen that she was sexually assaulted and paid off to leave Ravi and Nugget by Ranveer. Storming out, she later has a one night stand with Peter Beale (Thomas Law) after meeting in Peggy's Wine Bar. Priya attempts to kiss Nish after seeing Suki has no affection for him, although Suki is having an affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), unbeknownst to both Priya and Nish. Suki catches Priya and Nish in the act, along with son Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota), and writes a letter to inform Nish she is leaving him. Priya finds the letter and blackmails Suki for £3,000. Nish catches Suki handing over the money and briefly fires Priya from the shop. Prior to Christmas Day, Nish discovers the affair between Suki and Eve. He is attacked by the Six and is left to die. When released from hospital, Priya collects him and nurses him back to health. Priya encourages him to move on – she learns of Nish's relationship with Kat Mitchell (Jessie Wallace) and Priya encourages him to invite her on a date.

Avani stirs up trouble when she picks fun at Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) for being beaten up by Logan (Liam Hatch) and failing to protect Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) who significantly injured herself in the process of defending Denzel. It is all caught on video which Avani plays, causing Denzel to smash her phone. Defending his sister in the process, Nugget and Denzel end up in a fight. It is revealed by Will Mitchell (Freddie Phillips) that he is buying e-cigarettes from Avani. Will's mother Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) confronts Priya in the Vic but Priya makes it worse by attempting to fight Honey, unapologetic for Avani's out of control behaviour. Priya starts a romance with Martin Fowler (James Bye) after they have a date in Peggy's. Their blossoming romance is interrupted by Avani who wants Priya and Ravi to reunite. Avani, in a bid to ruin their date, makes inappropriate comments about Martin and spills water on his lap. After being excommunicated by his family, Nish returns and reveals that he is terminally ill with viral myocarditis. Priya becomes suspicious when Suki, Eve and Vinny start making amends with Nish, and believes that they are scheming to inherit his assets when he dies. Priya also decides to conduct her own plan to inherit Nish's wealth, but he sees through her. After purchasing items online using Suki's credit card, Avani urges Priya to keep her act together for the sake of keeping a roof over their head. Priya, listening to Avani's advice, offers Nish a proposal. The proposal is that she will accompany him throughout his dying last months for enough money to secure her and her children's futures. Nish initially declines but after seeing Suki and Eve embrace, is desperate to make Suki jealous. Priya and Nish passionately kiss, but are watched outside of a window by Nugget. Nugget collapses and is taken to hospital. It is revealed that he has a steroid addiction after contracting muscle dysmorphia. Priya and Ravi accuse each other of not looking after Nugget, and they decide to become better parents. Soon after, Priya turns Nish down and after Nugget confronts Nish by threatening to expose their kiss, Nish tells Ravi that Priya had tried to seduce him for his money. Ravi accuses Priya of being a bad mother and decides to put Avani in his care.

Introduction and casting
On 21 September 2023, the production team for EastEnders announced Sophie Khan Levy and "rising star" Aaliyah James had assumed the roles of Priya Nandra-Hart (Khan Levy) and Avani Nandra-Hart (James) devised in a plot-twist surrounding established character Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) discovering a secret and estranged daughter and exploring his former "bittersweet" off-screen relationship with Priya. Priya's backstory prior to joining the show stated Ravi had kept Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) from Priya dating back to their "bitter split years ago". Ravi was unaware Priya had left pregnant and the bombshell would "send shockwaves through his entire world". Khan Levy was delighted at her casting, she stated in a report from her casting announcement: "I'm super excited to be joining the show, and I can't wait to see what trouble Priya gets herself into! I watched EastEnders when I was growing up, so to see so many familiar faces and to walk onto the set is a dream come true."

EastEnders producer Chris Clenshaw teased the arrival of Priya and Avani. He added his excitement of "two women guaranteed to cause big drama in Albert Square". He noted that whilst little was known of their "doomed romance", Priya was "a big missing piece" of Ravi's past. Speaking of the revelation itself, Clenshaw said: "The revelation that he's got another child will floor Ravi, and he is set to face a big challenge in his life when he is forced to cope with such a big shock to the system. We're delighted to welcome Sophie and Aaliyah to the EastEnders family." When reflecting on filming her first scenes, Khan Levy described it as a "whirlwind" to the extreme point of not remembering whether she was nervous. Khan Levy praised actress Lacey Turner (Stacey) for making her feel extremely comfortable and called Turner a pro. She told Inside Soap she started filming a week after auditioning for Priya, adding she had "little time to think". Khan Levy also claimed she had a lot of fun with Priya's dressing-up box. She added that the outfits provided for Priya take a lot of building up and confidence to wear. Khan Levy's favourite shoes were Priya's notable Timberland's and Priya has a good selection of jackets whilst joking that Priya "thinks she is J Lo". Priya made her debut in episode 6789, originally broadcast on 16 October 2023.

Ravi Gulati
Prior to her introduction, tabloids referred to Priya's character as Ravi's "long-lost love". The production team for EastEnders initially hinted at a possible reconciliation for the two in March 2024, after adding that there is "history to be revisited". The adoptive-father of Ravi, Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam), had run Priya out after sexually assaulting her. Khan Levy asserted that a lot of history remains in the pair, it is just unseen as of yet. Thiara agreed with Khan Levy – scenes showing Priya and new love-interest Martin would let viewers see there is "unfinished business". Thiara conveyed his opinions on the matter: "As a fan there's a level of intrigue about them isn't there, and if we uncover and unpick that history slowly and give that excitement to the fans, that would be a lot of fun. There was a moment a few months ago with Ravi, when Priya made a pass at Nish. Ravi shrugged it off a bit because they were not together, and he was like she's her own woman, do what you want. If things did progress then he might react differently." The subject once again came to life in June 2024 after Thiara teased a potential reunion for the both. Speaking to Inside Soap, Thiara explained that the both "could be a great team" and his thought on rekindling their relationship would grant them to be a "power-couple". He added they both know how to play dirty and manipulating, they "do it in different ways". He continued on the matter: "It's that level of intrigue where you're rooting for these two characters to team up — but they can't seem to see it themselves! If they do come together, I think it would be very interesting to watch." Khan Levy told Inside Soap that Priya and Ravi would grow closer over the period of Nugget falling ill to his over usage of Anabolic steroids.

Nish Panesar
A relationship with Priya and Nish was foreshadowed, along with fans predicting an affair between her and Nish. A 'sex scandal' was 'confirmed' for the two characters in a report on 22 October 2023, only eight days after her initial debut. A scene featured Nish and Priya passionately kissing after Priya encouraged him for it shows them caught by Suki and Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota). Chowdhry teased a feud with Priya and told Daily Mirror: "Priya is a wonderful asset to have on-side but my goodness, what a formidable opponent she could be if it goes the other way. That is something that may or may not be tested." Nish returns after months away, revealing he is dying. Priya doesn't take the news lightly, leading to her arguing with Nish regarding her loyalty not extending to woman-abusers. Catching onto Suki and Vinny's plans for Vinny to be the sole inheritor, Priya threatens to destroy it in favour of her children, Nugget and Avani. The plot thickened with Nish offering a "mysterious new deal" with Priya. Khan Levy spoken out on Priya's thinking behind striking a deal with Nish, she stated: "Priya's a scrapper, and ferocious about making sure that Nugget and Avani are taken care of. She's a woman who has had a tough life, and in the past, I'm sure she's got into situations where she's had to grit her teeth and bear things for survival. In this moment, all Priya can see is what's right in front of her – and she believes that even if her kids can't see that she's doing what she's doing for them, they will later when they have their inheritance." The deal was later confirmed to be Nish would pay Priya for her company throughout his last months. Nugget later watches Nish and Priya kissing through the window, before collapsing to the floor.

Brief feud with Kat Slater
Priya embarks on a feud with long-standing character Kat Mitchell (Jessie Wallace) after she enters a relationship with Nish. They row in public on many occasions — Priya fumbles Kat and Suki's plans to ruin Nish. Nish later attacks Kat in his own home in a "sinister twist" that would see Nish's evil side be exposed to Kat after she threatens his businesses after she realises his intentions to scam her out of the Slater/Mitchell family businesses. When asked if she enjoyed going "head to head" with Wallace, Khan Levy conveyed she "had a bit of a 'pinch me' moment". She added Wallace is brilliant and mentioned that Kat has a lot more front than Priya. She positively expressed the experience and Wallace for pushing her to the limit and stepping out of her comfort zone.

Martin Fowler
It was confirmed on 13 March 2024 by EastEnders a new romance between Martin Fowler (James Bye) and newcomer Priya would appear on-screen in the following weeks. The plot would develop as Martin discovers the truth about Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) affair with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen). The first date goes well, the pair continue to playfully flirt until Avani's school notify Priya of her truancy. Martin helps Priya find Avani, much to her dismay. She plans to get Ravi and Priya back together. They both arrange a second date – Avani meddles into the situation and arranges for Ravi and Martin to meet her at the same time. The scene that showed Martin, confused of Ravi's arrival with the same flowers and assume Priya wanted to explore polyamory garnered attention on Twitter. Their last date was ruined by Avani, who couldn't resist but make comments about calling Martin "Daddy" and then intentionally spilling water on his lap, playing it off as an accident.

Nugget's steroid revelation
Nugget is drawn into Anabolic steroids by his friend Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega). The pair contract muscle dysmorphia and Nugget goes to the extreme of overdosing, needing long-term dialysis. Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) rips into Nugget for his appearance. Tommy and Nugget end up in a physical fight leading to Ravi and Zack Hudson (James Farrar) breaking it up, Nugget also runs off after seeing the gym going through drug testing. Khan Levy spoken out numerously on the storyline.

On her reaction to finding out the news, Khan Levy told Inside Soap: "It's a total shock because what's going on with Nugget isn't on Priya's radar at all. She's missed it completely, and that makes her feel incredibly guilty. She's already living with a lot of guilt about missing so much of her son's life, so to have missed this when she was actually there is even more devastating." Priya feels guilty for her absence in Nugget's life. Khan Levy teased "chaos" for the family, also teasing a "big fall out". She added: "Priya had absolutely no idea that any of this was coming and I think given her history as a mum who was absent in his life, it's probably very difficult to see her having been absent in this storyline not knowing anything. She's devastated and I think we see the fall out of this in the weeks to come."

Reception
Laura Denby of Radio Times speculated "newcomer Priya" could be the "potential seventh woman" in the most recent "whodunit" storyline "The Six". Inside Soap branded Khan Levy's character as "Naughty Priya" whilst also adding her actions are questionable. On the decision to pair Priya with Martin Fowler (James Bye), Maisie Spackman from Metro wondered if Martin and Priya were set to become the square's new power-couple. Spackman also cited Priya as "fiery". The scene displaying Martin assuming Priya wanted to explore polyamory with Ravi was noted to have left fans "in hysterics", with multiple users on the social media platform Twitter commenting about it after garnering a lot of attention.