EastEnders Nish Panesar star’s life off-screen - including huge net worth and famous cousin

Navin Chowdhry has taken EastEnders by storm since his character Nish Panesar first appeared on the show back in September 2022. This New Year, Nish is set to wreck havoc in Walford as he remains missing after escaping from prison.

The 53-year-old actor set foot in Albert Square as villainous Nish, the husband of Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), after he was released from prison for serving a murder sentence, and quickly rose in the ranks as an iconic menace.

But away from the BBC One soap, the actor has been appearing on television since he was a teenager and has played roles on very popular shows including Teachers, Doctor Who, and London's Burning. So let's take a look at Navin's life away from the BBC One soap.

Navin was born on 1 January 1971, making him 53 years old. He was born and raised in Bristol, England and is the son of well-known female activist Simi Chowdhry.

His first acting role was in 1988 when he played Manek Sen in Madam Sousatzka starring alongside Shirley MacLaine and Peggy Ashcroft. In 1993, he appeared in the ITV drama London's Burning as Rasheed and has since gone on to star in a long list of shows.

As well as acting, Navin was encouraged to take his education seriously. In 1994 he graduated with a 2:1 degree in biochemistry from Imperial College London where he completed a three-year course and managed to balance his studies with multiple TV roles.

Navin’s acting career really began to take off in 2001 when he landed the role of IT teacher Kurt McKenna in the comedy show Teachers and Ralph in Channel 4’s Ny-Lon in 2004.

He also featured in the popular 2003 series Waking The Dead, where he played Rainman, and in Doctor Who as Indra Ganesh, as well as playing PC Sanjay Singh in Dalziel and