EastEnders asked Samaritans for advice on heartbreaking Ravi Gulati storyline
Aaron Thiara's character Ravi Gulati is at the centre of a mental health struggle on screen.
EastEnders has turned to Samaritans for advice on Ravi Gulati's mental health storyline.
The character, played by Aaron Thiara, is embroiled in an emotional storyline on the BBC soap as his mental health deteriorates, and later this month Ravi will be seen reaching the point of considering taking his own life.
The BBC has confirmed viewers will see how the character "struggles, feeling powerless and believing he is unable to protect his family". They added: "As Ravi reaches a crisis point, his family are finally able to get him to accept the help he needs."
The soap's executive producer Ben Wadey explained that the EastEnders team are always making sure they take "great care" on such delicate storylines.
He said: “EastEnders always takes great care when researching storylines such as Ravi’s and we’re grateful to Samaritans for the advice they have given us, helping us ensure Ravi’s story is told with the care and sensitivity it deserves.”
Meanwhile, Lorna Fraser - Head of Media Advisory Service at Samaritan - noted that such powerful storylines can be vital to helping encourage people to talk to someone if they're in a similar position.
Lorna added: "Storylines responsibly reflecting experiences of mental health and suicide can help tackle stigma and encourage viewers who might be struggling to talk about how they are feeling.
"We’re proud to have supported EastEnders with covering Ravi’s self-harm and mental health crisis sensitively and grateful for their efforts in making this as safe as possible.
"We hope it helps anyone watching to seek support if they need it.”
As part of the ongoing storyline, Ravi has been seen starting to self-harm, while his behaviour has appeared more erratic as he deals with the guilt around his criminal exploitation of Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho) and Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway).
As well as the drugs operation, he violently attacked his own son Davinder 'Nugget' Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) after the Mitchells spiked him in a revenge plot.
He's also dealing with his life as an undercover police information in an organised crime organisation, while fearing for his family's safety.
