Shiv Jalota

Shiv Jalota
Shiv Jalota
Born	Shiv Jalota; 26 December 1993 (age 31); Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2015–present
Television	EastEnders

Shiv Jalota (born 26 December 1993) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Vinny Panesar on the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 2019.

Life and career

Jalota was born on 26 December 1993 in Kingston upon Thames.^[1] He studied drama at Richmond Drama School and later joined the National Youth Theatre in 2013 after it was recommended by a friend, where he appeared in the stage production Homegrown: a true story.^[1] Jalota credited the theatre company for helping him to break into the entertainment industry. He subsequently went on to appear in an array of stage shows including Pigeon English, Romeo and Juliet, DNA, The Grapes of Wrath, Mother Courage and Her Children, Catalyst and Pappy Show.^[2] In 2016, he made his short film debut, appearing as a gym-goer in Heavy Weight.^[3] In 2018, Jalota secured the lead role of Christopher Boone in the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, becoming the first British-Asian actor to do so.^[4] Of his casting, Jalota said he "found it a relief to jump out of standard BAME personas" and added that it was "more rewarding and not associated at all with [his] ethnicity."^[5]

In 2019, Jalota was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Vinny Panesar, the youngest brother in the Panesar family.^[6]^[7] He made his on-screen debut on 29 October, arriving alongside the character's brothers Kheerat (Jaz Deol) and Jags (Amar Adatia).^[8]^[9] His character's storylines on the show have included his relationship with Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) and the introduction of and relationship with his parents Suki (Balvinder Sopal) and Nish (Navin Chowdhry).^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2016	Heavy Weight	Gym goer	Short film	^[14]
2019	White Girl	Unknown	Short film	^[14]
2019–present	EastEnders	Vinny Panesar	Regular role	^[15]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2015	Homegrown: a true story	Shiv	National Youth Theatre	^[2]
2016	Pigeon English	Dizzy	Ambassadors Theatre
2016	Romeo and Juliet	Benvollio	Ambassadors Theatre
2016	DNA	Adam	Ambassadors Theatre
2017	The Grapes of Wrath	Al Joad	West Yorkshire Playhouse
2017	Mother Courage and Her Children	Company	Southwark Playhouse
2018	Catalyst	Kurt	The North Wall Theatre
2018	Pappy Show	Boys	New Diorama
2018	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time	Christopher Boone	National Theatre
2019	Orange Juice	Adam	Tristan Bates Theatre

References

^ ^a ^b "'National Youth Theatre shaped me as a performer'". Eastern Eye. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Shiv Jalota on Spotlight". Spotlight. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ ""Vinny's ready to show what he can do!" says EastEnders' Shiv Jalota". Inside Soap. 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "British Asian actor Shiv Jalota to star in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time". BBC. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "'Not a terrorist again!': Typecast actors applaud manual to boost role diversity". The Guardian. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "5 things we learnt about new EastEnders family the Panesars". Radio Times. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders – who are the Panesar brothers?". Digital Spy. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders spoilers: Shiv Jalota reveals future for Vinny Panesar and Dotty Cotton". Metro. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota shows off hair transformation". Digital Spy. 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders' Vinny Panesar left devastated over Dotty and Finlay". Digital Spy. 6 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "Shiv Jalota and Gurlaine Kaur Garcha talk at The Inside Soap Awards 2022". Metro. 18 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders viewers think Vinny is the real flash-forward killer". Radio Times. 4 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota reveals Vinny's future after shock collapse". Digital Spy. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota mourns the passing away of close family member: 'RIP you beautiful being'". Eastern Eye. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota hints at dark turn in Vinny Panesar's story". Digital Spy. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

External links

Shiv Jalota at IMDb

[NYT-1] "'National Youth Theatre shaped me as a performer'". Eastern Eye. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[spotlight-2] "Shiv Jalota on Spotlight". Spotlight. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[3] ""Vinny's ready to show what he can do!" says EastEnders' Shiv Jalota". Inside Soap. 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[4] "British Asian actor Shiv Jalota to star in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time". BBC. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[5] "'Not a terrorist again!': Typecast actors applaud manual to boost role diversity". The Guardian. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[6] "5 things we learnt about new EastEnders family the Panesars". Radio Times. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[7] "EastEnders – who are the Panesar brothers?". Digital Spy. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[8] "EastEnders spoilers: Shiv Jalota reveals future for Vinny Panesar and Dotty Cotton". Metro. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[9] "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota shows off hair transformation". Digital Spy. 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[10] "EastEnders' Vinny Panesar left devastated over Dotty and Finlay". Digital Spy. 6 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[11] "Shiv Jalota and Gurlaine Kaur Garcha talk at The Inside Soap Awards 2022". Metro. 18 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[12] "EastEnders viewers think Vinny is the real flash-forward killer". Radio Times. 4 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[13] "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota reveals Vinny's future after shock collapse". Digital Spy. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[short_films-14] "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota mourns the passing away of close family member: 'RIP you beautiful being'". Eastern Eye. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[15] "EastEnders star Shiv Jalota hints at dark turn in Vinny Panesar's story". Digital Spy. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

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