This article contains spoilers for tonight’s EastEnders, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) was horrified to hear the ordeal daughter Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) had suffered in recent EastEnders scenes – especially as he had had a similar experience.
This week, the teenager was taken in by police alongside friends Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) and Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) after drugs were found at their feet.
Viewers know that the girls were innocent, and the police were happy to let Amy and Lily go home when their respective guardians arrived to pick them up.
However, when no one arrived to collect Avani, police took her in to be strip searched, claiming it was due to her attitude and lack of cooperation.
The humiliating experience has had a devastating effect on Avani, who was found drunk and passed out in tonight’s episode, having not been home the previous night.
On seeing the state Avani was in, Ravi got the sense that his family were hiding something from him, and he was determined to get to the truth.
After confronting Amy and learning about the confrontation with police, Ravi headed home, where he finally got the full story from Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal).
Ravi’s rage was through the roof as he made it clear he wanted to seek revenge on the officers that had put Avani through the search, though Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy) insisted that wouldn’t help.
As Priya worried that Avani would turn to drink or drugs again in future to numb her pain, Ravi decided to talk to her directly.
In emotional scenes, he revealed something he’d never told anything before – he was also strip searched the first time he was arrested.
He opened up about how he felt humiliated, and like he had no control over his body – something that clearly resonated with Avani.
Despite Ravi’s promise that he and Priya would be on the same team and put Avani first from now on, it was clear the teen was still battling her demons, as she met with a dealer to pick up some drugs.
Could Priya’s worst fears be set to come true?
