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EastEnders favourite Aaron Thiara tipped for exit as Ravi Gulati after 4 years

Thiara joined the soap in 2022.

Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati in EastEnders

BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron

Published: Saturday, 15 August 2026 at 5:57 pm

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Aaron Tiara is reportedly set to leave EastEnders after four years.

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The actor, who plays Ravi Gulati in the BBC soap, will bow out early next year according to The Sun.

A source told the publication: “Aaron has been at the centre of the some of the soaps biggest storylines since his arrival as bad-boy Ravi back in 2022.

“He’s an incredibly popular member of the cast and the fans love him.

“He’s decided to focus on new projects, but will stay on set until the end of the year to see out some juicy storylines his character has in store.”

Ravi looks around a corner in a scene from EastEnders

Thiara is tipped to film his final scenes at the end of the year. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

A spokesperson for EastEnders declined to comment when approached by Radio Times.

It comes following the news that both Michelle Ryan and Kellie Bright, who play Zoe Slater and Linda Carter respectively, will exit over the coming year.

Thiara's Albert Square alter-ego Ravi has had a very busy year. He was drugged by Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) which led to a troubling hallucination of his late father Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and a subsequent attack on son Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury).

With his mental health at an all time low, Ravi was diagnosed with complex PTSD. He then decided to end his relationship with Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy), and left Walford.

Ravi leans over Priya in a scene from EastEnders

Scenes that air next week will see Ravi propose to Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy). BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

Upon his return, he's made it his mission to discover which mystery man she's been jumping into bed with during his absence. He also told Suki Panesar-Unwin (Balvinder Sopal) that he intended to kill the secret fella.

As viewers know, this man is Max Branning (Jake Wood).

Could Ravi be the gunman who holds Max's children Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) and Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) hostage in the New Year, which ultimately leads to his exit?

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Authors

Michael Adams wearing a white t-shirt and beige gilet against a white background

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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