“Had the best time being Ayesha.”
EastEnders star Laila Rouass has revealed that her final appearance on the soap will air last night (August 12), as her character Ayesha Siddhu bids farewell to Albert Square.
Ayesha arrived in Walford earlier this month and had an unexpected reunion with Suki and Nish Panesar, which was a tense occasion as Nish was the person who killed Ayesha’s husband Hardeep over 20 years earlier.
With Ayesha now about to leave Walford following her reconnection with Suki, actor Rouass has shared a photo on Instagram of herself and Nish actor Navin Chowdhry with their arms around each other outside the Queen Vic.
“My last episode on @eastenders tonight,” she wrote following the end of her guest stint. “Thank you so much for all your wonderful messages and support. Had the best time being Ayesha.
“Enjoy tonight’s episode and I’ll see you on screen again soon.”
Chowdhry commented on the post with two love hearts, while several of her followers shared their desire to see Ayesha back in Walford again soon.
“You played Ayesha so beautifully, thank you for giving us incredible scenes we waited a long time for … hope to see you back one day! X” one fan wrote, while another commented, “We waited for so long for your character to arrive since Suki mentioned the neighbours wife and you did not disappoint … I’m hoping you/Ayesha return in the future. Another cameo appearance for Suki and Eves wedding would be lovely”.
While Ayesha’s arrival in Walford was a shock to Suki, the pair eventually connected as they discussed everything that happened all those years ago, with both women confirming that they had had feelings for each other before Nish killed Hardeep – a crime he committed because he wrongly assumed Suki was cheating with Hardeep.
“Ayesha has got all these feelings for Suki that even she doesn’t understand,” Rouass said of their reunion.
“There’s a kind of nostalgia when she seeks Suki for the bond they shared back then because her life is so different now. She’s trying to process these complicated emotions while coping with seeing the man who killed her husband.”
Despite Nish’s hopes that contacting Ayesha would ruin Suki’s relationship with Eve Unwin, Suki and Eve have just celebrated getting engaged.
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
