| Ash Panesar | |||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Gurlaine Kaur Garcha | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2019–2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 5980 29 August 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6659 8 March 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jon Sen | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ash Panesar (also Kaur) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gurlaine Kaur Garcha. Ash was introduced as the bisexual Punjabi Sikh girlfriend of established character Iqra Ahmed (Priya Davdra) in episode 5980, broadcast on 29 August 2019. Garcha expressed excitement to be cast as a Sikh LGBT character due to the opportunity for representation that it presented. Later revealed to be an estranged member of the Panesar family, Ash's storylines have mainly focused on her complicated family relationships, especially her mother Suki (Balvinder Sopal) due to her sexual orientation, her romantic relationships with Iqra and Peter Beale (Dayle Hudson), being a victim of casual racism at the hands of Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman), and her eventual exit from the soap after accepting a job in Canada.
Across her time in the serial, Ash was depicted as one of the more morally upright members of her family, often characterised as being empathetic, resilient and strong-minded. Despite her tumultuous relationship with her mother, Garcha was often adamant that the two characters were more similar to each other than it may initially seem. In January 2023, it was announced that Ash had been axed by executive producer Chris Clenshaw, with the character making her final appearance in episode 6659, broadcast on 8 March 2023. The door was left open for a future return. Ash attracted praise from critics and viewers, with Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap praising the "subtle girl power" Ash brought to the show, Zara Woodcock of the Daily Mirror commenting that the character had been a wide success with audiences, and Garcha often noting that she received supportive messages from fans.