EastEnders actor Aaron Thiara on Ravi Gulati's CPTSD storyline

Aaron Thiara, who plays Ravi Gulati on EastEnders, discusses the soap's recent mental health storyline focusing on Complex PTSD (CPTSD). The 32-year-old actor acknowledges expectations from the South Asian community due to his skin color but emphasizes the story is "universally for everyone." Ravi's character, diagnosed with CPTSD after long-term trauma including child abuse, has been shown in a mental health facility following a series of breakdowns and a suicide attempt. The storyline was developed with advice from charities Samaritans, Mind, and Rethink Mental Illness. Thiara notes that mental health has long been taboo in South Asian communities, but hopes viewers can "look beyond the colour of our skin and support one another." He deliberately avoided learning too much about the illness to portray Ravi's confusion organically, though key moments like a pharmacy hostage scene were carefully mapped. Thiara praises EastEnders' history of tackling difficult issues, citing Mark Fowler's HIV, Stacy Slater's bipolar disorder, and Phil Mitchell's psychosis. He wants audiences to see beyond Ravi's criminal past and "just see the human being."