EastEnders actor Aaron Thiara has hinted at a major twist in his character Ravi Gulati's bitter war with Jack Branning, with the fallout set to air 'next week'. The 32-year-old, who plays the drug-dealing villain on the BBC soap, told ITV's Lorraine that Ravi is becoming increasingly 'desperate' as pressure mounts from his criminal activities.
Viewers have been gripped by the ongoing feud, which escalated when Zoe Slater was caught in the crossfire and shot outside the Queen Vic. Jack pressured Ravi to hide the weapon, but tensions have only grown. Thiara revealed: 'He's got caught in the spider's web with the drug business. That's gonna put pressure on him so he's gonna get a bit more desperate but an opportunity will present itself next week between Ravi and Jack.'
The actor defended his character, insisting Ravi is not a true villain. 'He doesn't really want to be doing it,' Thiara said. 'He might see himself as being good at doing it, but we did see a few months ago that Bernie Taylor had taken a lot of the money. So, he needed to make money quickly. Really, Bernie's the villain here!'
In recent scenes, Ravi threatened Jack after Priya grew suspicious of his criminal ties. 'Your little visit earlier nearly cost me my relationship,' Ravi warned. 'So now it's 100k in cash, or it's my turn to play hide and seek with the gun.' Jack retaliated: 'If I get done for this, I'm taking you down with me Ravi, so don't be stupid.' But Ravi was unmoved: 'Don't you be stupid Jack. You're the one who should be scared of prison. So, what's it going to be?'
Fans are now predicting a dark outcome, with some suggesting either Ravi or Jack could be killed off. One Reddit user wrote: 'I'll be honest, I see Ravi or Jack dead by the new year :(' Another added: 'Between the two of them, it will definitely be Ravi. Jack has been in the show for the better part of 20 years. He's iconic. Ravi isn't.'
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
