EastEnders spoilers follow for Tuesday’s episode (21 April), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.
EastEnders has exposed Ravi Gulati’s major secret after three months, as a pressurised situation forces him to tell his son Nugget a shock truth. It was Ravi, after being spiked, who attacked Nugget in the Square back in January, but he and Priya Nandra-Hart agreed to keep this to themselves.
Ravi’s mental health has continued to deteriorate and this week he reached breaking point when Nugget briefly disappeared. He urged his family to return home and bolted the front door shut during the night.
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In today’s episode, Ravi gathered his loved ones, explaining that he had called in sick for them at work and school and taken their phones away so they could spend the day together at home.
Avani and Nugget agreed to the family day, Priya was quietly concerned about Ravi missing his latest therapy session. She welcomed the idea of watching a film together but grew worried when her partner wouldn’t let even her have her phone back.
The situation began to escalate when Ravi discouraged his family from going for a walk. When Priya discovered the bolt on the door, Ravi explained that he needed to keep everyone safe from his outside enemies.
As Ravi’s behaviour got more worrying, Avani got up to leave and discovered she was trapped in the flat – and she and Nugget realised the extent of their dad’s mental struggles.
Meanwhile, Suki began to get suspicious of her family’s whereabouts, so she called round to the flat to check on everyone. Desperate to keep Ravi calm, Priya told Suki that they all had a stomach bug and got her to leave.
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Ravi broke down in tears and told Priya that he didn’t want to feel like this anymore. His loved ones tended to him and heartbroken Avani supported him on the sofa, while Priya told Nugget she was looking for keys to the new locks on the door.
Nugget noticed bruises on her mum’s arms and Priya was forced to reveal that her injuries were caused by Ravi. When the teen angrily confronted his dad about his actions, Ravi got overwhelmed and said that he had failed everyone – admitting to Nugget that he attacked him earlier in the year.
How will Nugget react to this devastating revelation?
If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, organisations who can offer support include the NHS, Samaritans on 116 123 or Mind on 0300 123 3393. Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov.
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.