EastEnders spoilers follow. The following article contains discussion of sexual misconduct.
Ravi Gulati’s downward spiral continues in tonight’s EastEnders episode (20 April), but when one of his former lovers resurfaces in Albert Square, the hunk portrayed by Aaron Thiara is reminded of his shady past – and the murder of forgotten Walford villain Ranveer Gulati.
During tonight’s trip to Walford, Ravi continues to struggle with his overwhelming trauma from Nugget’s brutal beating, before a desperate Priya Nandra-Hart rushes him to the hospital for urgent treatment. Once there, a withdrawn Ravi gets a blast from the past with actress Hersha Verity reprising her role as Nina Gupta, Ravi’s former lover, three years after her dramatic exit.
After an honest conversation over their shared history, Nina urges Ravi to attend therapy sessions for his own good – while coldly pointing out that his struggles may be retribution for his own devious actions.
Originally introduced in 2022, Nina was once married to Ranveer Gulati, a wealthy businessman played by Anil Goutam. Upon his arrival, Ranveer was disappointed when his original business partner Kheerat Panesar was on the run from the police after almost killing Gray Atkins.
Keen to develop his empire when Nina got into business with Suki Panesar, Ranveer then set his sights on the Panesar family’s GP surgery, with Ravi recommending that he teamed up with Suki. Though impressed by Suki’s business acumen, Ranveer had other ideas – during a meeting with Suki at Walford East, the villain ordered sexual favours in return for their partnership to continue.
Cornered, Suki agreed to Ranveer’s demands but was determined to get the last word. She hatched a plan to secretly record him and use the footage to get her hands on the surgery. Ranveer caught on with the ruse and viciously attacked Suki in an attempt to rape her.
In harrowing scenes, Suki put up a fight by hitting Ranveer over the head with a clock and was sent into a panic when Ravi walked in on her standing over the villain’s body. Shocked to the core, Suki was convinced that she’d killed Ranveer and tearfully confessed to Ravi, only for Ravi to discover his father was still alive when her back was turned.
While Suki tried to recover from the shock of her attack, Ravi finished Ranveer off with the same clock Suki used to defend herself, before dismembering him and throwing the pieces into a suitcase.
Ranveer’s ghost continued to haunt EastEnders in the months that followed as it was quickly revealed that Ravi had been involved in a secret romance with his stepmother Nina all along and the illicit couple had planned to kill Ranveer themselves before running off with his fortune – but Suki’s involvement had completely derailed their scheme.
The lovers were quickly pulled apart when Ravi chose to stand by his family rather than running away with her after Ranveer’s body was found. Nina was lucky enough to flee the Square before it was too late, while Ravi had to face Kheerat’s accusations.
The storyline kept viewers on the edge of their seats when Kheerat then backtracked to protect his mother by taking the blame for Ranveer’s murder – and Ravi was revealed as Nish’s secret son.
Kheerat eventually left the Square in handcuffs, waving an emotional goodbye to his family and his then-love interest Stacey Slater. Unable to cope with her son’s arrest and still traumatised by the death of her son Jaz behind bars, Suki went above and beyond to get Ravi sent to jail, only for him to threaten Kheerat’s life to get her to drop the matter.
Months later, when Ravi became romantically involved with Chelsea Fox, her mother Denise found video footage of Ravi committing the sinister deed and used it to blackmail him.
Following Ranveer’s death, Priya also opened up to Ravi about her own experience with the businessman and recalled how Ranveer’s former PA, Priti, had told her about her own assault.
Freed from his abusive and overbearing adoptive father, Ravi attempted to mend his relationship with Nish before his death and slowly found his mark within the Panesar family as he continued his dodgy deeds.
He even rekindled his relationship with his on-off girlfriend Priya, in the hopes of forming a family with their two children. These days, Ravi is desperate for peace – but will his mental turmoil allow it?
