EastEnders brings back 2 major characters as New Year gunman ‘exposed’
EastEnders have brought back two characters, whose return are set to shake things up for the rest of Walford as one threatens to kill his rival amid family troubles
Sharon returns to EastEnders(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
EastEnders have welcomed back some iconic characters to the Square. Original character Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and killer Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) returned in Thursday’s episode – and both of them have bad news for their fellow Walford residents.
Sharon’s return was revealed early on in the episode, when her brother, Zack Hudson (James Farrar), came home to see her in the hallway.
Zack was delighted to see his sister, as was her ex Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who helped Sharon organise the surprise. But things soon turned sour between Sharon and Phil as she announced that she was selling her share of their boxing gym.
Sharon’s comeback aired on Thursday(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
Shortly after, Ravi’s return was also aired. He was seen getting out of a car after almost running over his ex Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Levy). Ravi made it clear that he wanted to get back together with Priya and be a proper dad to their children again, but Priya wasn’t having it.
She stormed off and when he caught up to her, Priya berated him for leaving her. Ravi said that he was “ill”, having only recently left a mental health ward, but Priya fumed that she had stood by him and raged that he slept with her before breaking up with her when he left the hospital.
When Ravi insisted that Priya must care about him or she wouldn’t have sent him a picture with her new man in the background, she suggested that she’d moved on from him.
Unbeknownst to Ravi, his rival for Priya’s attention is Max Branning (Jake Wood). But that didn’t stop Ravi from issuing a threat. He told his stepmother, Suki Panesar-Unwin (Balvinder Sopal) that he wasn’t going to let anything get in between him and his family and if that man tried, he would kill him.
Ravi wanted to get back together with Priya(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
Following Ravi’s threats, some fans suggested that he might be the mysterious gunman who holds Max’s children hostage at New Year.
The gunman was first seen during the flashforward on 1 January 2026, holding Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) at gunpoint before telling Max to choose one to save.
One fan wrote: “It’s either setting things up for NYD already (and my theory about Ravi being the gunman being correct) or the biggest red herring.”
A second said: “The nerve of wanting Priya back when he’s treated her like dirt! And issuing death threats… They are trying to sell him as the gunman.” A third asked: “So the gunman in the flash-forward is gonna be Ravi huh?”
The gunman’s identity is one of many mysteries ahead of New Year. Fans had also been wondering who Max would be marrying on that day, but that has since been confirmed as Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) who is not only engaged to Max, but who booked their wedding venue for New Year’s Day in Thursday’s episode.
