The question mark hanging over EastEnders this Christmas is who will be wearing the dreaded cufflinks on the floor of The Queen Vic, and actors Aaron Thiara and Matt Di Angelo reckon their characters Ravi and Dean are prime candidates.
The BBC soap has been teasing its Christmas murder-mystery since February, with a flash forward showing Denise (Diane Parish), Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), Linda (Kellie Bright), Sharon (Letitia Dean), Stacey (Lacey Turner), and Suki (Balvinder Sopal) as they are faced with a dead body.
The only clue about the identity of the body is a pair of gold cufflinks.
Christmas came early this year. What. Just. Happened? 😱
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Aaron Thiara, who plays Ravi Gulati, said that after an "eventful year", his character has made a number of enemies.
He explained: "We’ve seen him have issues with Sharon and Keanu with the drug storyline and Keanu being attacked by Ravi. We’ve got the big one with Suki and Denise. Suki being misled that she killed Ranveer but actually it was Ravi, and Kheerat took the fall.
"This also brings in Stacey because she lost her loved one and then obviously the Denise affair which blew up and had huge effects which remised across the whole Square. So Ravi is tied up with a lot of the women which has been very eventful and interesting."
However, the soap actor said that Ravi is now at a point where "his conscience is taking over" and he is "thinking about who he wants to be as a person".
"It’s a moment of growth for him, and he’s wanting to be his own man but he’s got caught up in this horrible situation with his dad pulling him in to it," Thiara said.
"With that, it’s bought a whole heap of drama now because he’s wanting to keep it all under wraps from Nish as well as from Suki, and I think he believes he can wipe the slate clean."
Thiara said that working on the storyline since February has been "more brilliant".
"The chops and changes, the turns, the ups and downs for the character. For the audience as well, to give them certain moments of colour where you go 'Oh yep, it’s definitely going to be Ravi on the floor’ and others where they’ve gone 'Oh, I’m not too sure'", he said.
"It’s been very interesting to play, and very exciting to play. Loads of different emotions, and with that, all of the drama that comes with it has been a real joy to play."
He added that there's "every possibility" it could be Ravi wearing the dreaded cufflinks.
Meanwhile, Matt Di Angelo's Dean made a surprise return to Albert Square at Halloween and has been causing upset ever since.
Di Angelo said of his character's storyline: "Dean is very much back in the Square now trying to make his business work and take care of his sick daughter. He’s trying his hardest to integrate into the community and make his business work."
The actor said that Dean "very much thinks he's innocent".
Di Angelo explained: "He truly believes that so he is surprised that people who did believe him before, now don’t.
"So he’s having to deal with that, and he is finding that the people of Walford are standing behind Linda so he wants to change their mind. He doesn’t have a choice, he needs his life in Walford to work."
The soap star added: "If anyone deserves to wear the cufflinks, its Dean, but I think the more people that have those cufflinks in the lead up to Christmas, the better…"
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One Monday to Thursday.
