It’s been a dramatic week on EastEnders, with young Avani Nandra-Hart, played by the talented Aaliyah James, facing a harrowing strip search by police at just 15 years old. Viewers were left shocked as the storyline unfolded, showing Avani being targeted after dodgy Marvin planted drugs near her.
The situation escalated quickly for Avani, who was distraught during the search—made worse by her parents being unreachable. With Priya and Ravi missing the crisis calls, Avani turned to alcohol to cope with her ordeal and ended last night’s episode unconscious in the playground. Tonight’s scenes are set to be tense as Ravi, played by Aaron Thiara, discovers the truth behind his daughter’s visit to the station.
Offscreen, Aaron and Aaliyah share a surprisingly small age difference given their on-screen roles. In a twist that surprises many fans, Aaliyah is actually 24, despite playing a teenager, while soap dad Aaron is only 31, while his character is 38.
Sophie Khan Levy, who brings Avani’s mum Priya to life, shares a similarly slender age gap with her fictional daughter. At 35, Sophie stands just 11 years away from Aaliyah, reports the Mirror.
The casting trivia has not gone unnoticed by Aaliyah herself, who humorously embraced her character’s age discrepancy with a birthday post quipping: “Guys… I’m now 15.. I mean 24 years old.”
Since stepping onto the scene, Avani has been at the heart of some gripping plots. The New Year brought tragedy when her grandad Nish Panesar met a grim end, falling to his death after being shoved by her dad, Ravi, during Suki and Eve’s wedding – a day already shadowed by Nish’s sinister plan to poison the newlyweds.
Ravi himself has been stirring up Walford since his 2022 debut. His latest entanglement was a steamy love triangle with Denise Fox and Jack Branning that had fans casting their votes on who Denise should choose. Jack emerged as the favourite in the public eye.
The reveal, however, sparked outrage among viewers, with many rooting for a Ravi-Denise romance. They vented their frustrations on X, previously known as Twitter, during the live episode broadcast.
One fan exclaimed, “What boring b*****ds voted for jack ugh what a YAWN FEST #EastEnders #EastEnders40,” while another lamented, “#EELive,” and yet another expressed annoyance with Denise’s decision: “Denise is p*****g me off. this was the wrong choice #EastEnders40.”