Actress Laila Rouass makes her grand Walford enterance as Ayesha on Monday but the TV star is also famed for her role as a police detective on rival soap Hollyoaks in 2003.

EastEnders has aired the arrival of Ayesha – an old acquaintance of Suki Panesar (played by Balvinder Sopal).

During the latest visit to Walford (August 5), which airs on BBC Two tonight and available on iPlayer, dying Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) told his son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) that he wanted to make amends with people he has wronged in the past as his life span is running out.

But in a twisted revenge plot, he enlisted granddaughter Avani (Aaliyah James) help track down Ayesha, an old friend of his and Suki’s.

While Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) and his mum Suki had lunch at Walford East they discussed their plans to trick Nish into handy over all of his businesses.

But they were soon interrupted when Nish showed up with a cocky look on his face. Within moments, Ayesha soon followed through the restaurant doors leaving Suki shocked.

Ayesha is the widow of Hardeep, the man who Nish killed more than two decades ago when he believed he and Suki were having an affair – although it was Ayesha she actually had feelings for.

As she came face-to-face with his husband’s murderer it was obvious she was still furious and stormed out.

Suki rushed after Ayesha to explain she wasn’t involved in Nish’s scheme as the pair were divorced.

Back at the house, Suki and Ayesha had an emotional chat, and Suki admitted that she had let Nish think she was involved with Hardeep, blaming herself for his death.

Ayesha revealed that Suki’s feelings were reciprocated and she had always known she was gay, gaining the courage to come out after Hardeep’s death.

The pair found common ground as Ayesha refused to have sympathy for Nish and they confronted him together, leaving him disappointed that his plan had failed.

Suki asked Ayesha to stick around and they met up with Eve for a drink in The Vic, but there was a familiarity between the former friends that unnerved Eve. Nish then planted doubt in Eve’s mind as he exposed the two women’s past feelings for one another.

“I guess you could say that she was Suki’s first love,” he said. “I just hope it’s not a problem for you.”

As actress Laila Rouass, 53, makes her debut as Ayesha on the BBC soap, some viewers will recognise the star from Hollyoaks.

She played the role of DI Dale Jackson, who was part of the investigation into a series of murders in Hollyoaks in 2003, and appeared in nearly 40 episodes of the Channel 4 soap.

The police officer’s time in Chester came to an abrupt exit following an affair with Ben Davies (Marcus Patric).

While starring on Hollyoaks the TV star attended the fifth annual TV Soap Awards in London, along with her co-stars at that time.

Laila is also famed for roles in Holby City, Primeval and Footballer’s Wives, along with taking part on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009.

Speaking about her stint on EastEnders, she said: “I cannot tell you how excited I am to be in EastEnders! I was born in the East End and grew up there, and there was such a buzz when the show started.

“Even though I was little at the time, I can clearly remember the first episode and Doctor Legg arriving at the flat where Reg Cox had been murdered.”

She added: “I’ve also known Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar) for many years, so it was great to work with him again and to do scenes with Balvinder Sopal (Suki Panesar) and the rest of the Panesars as Ayesha reunites with them. This is a lifelong dream come true.”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer