EastEnders fans compare Ravi to THIS legendary Walford villain as he comes to blows with Jack

Ravi Gulati is planning something in EastEnders
EastEnders fans compared Ravi Gulati to infamous villain Steve Owen. (Image credit: BBC)

EastEnders fans have likened Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) to iconic villain Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) as he and Jack Branning's (Scott Maslen) rivalry escalated during last night's episode (Thursday, March 23).

Recently in EastEnders, husband and wife Jack and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) have both been keeping secrets about Ravi. For Denise, it's the fact that she had a brief affair with him, while Jack is in the middle of a police investigation into him.

In a bid to get Ravi to stay away from her, Denise made the dangerous decision to tell him that he was being investigated and he then blackmailed her to become his informer or he would expose their affair to Jack.

Since then, Ravi has started a relationship with Denise's daughter Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) in his evil game to get closer to the investigation and antagonise the couple.

After a hint from Detective Callum Highway (Tony Clay) that Ravi may have been told about the investigation, Jack had an inkling that Denise may have had something to do with it.

Martin Kemp as Steve Owen in EastEnders

Steve Owen was one of the most memorable EastEnders villains. (Image credit: BBC)

He demanded to know the truth about Denise and Ravi and accused her of telling Chelsea about the investigation in a bid to put her off the ex-con.

Denise lied and vehemently denied Jack's claims before she furiously stormed out of the room.

Later on, Jack showed up at Walford East and asked Ravi why he had been "sniffing around Chelsea", before Ravi began provoking Jack over his relationship with Denise.

An angry Jack then demanded to know who told him about the investigation, before the criminal laughed and offered him a deal.

"How about I back off Chelsea, but in return, you stop threatening me and my son and tell me everything I need to know," Ravi said.

Chelsea Fox bring Ravi Gulati for dinner

Ravi has been using Chelsea Fox to get to Jack Branning and Denise Fox. (Image credit: BBC)

Jack turned down the deal and promised to get him locked up, before announcing to Denise that he had been taken off the case because of Ravi's relationship with stepdaughter Chelsea.

As well as comparing Ravi to legendary villain Steve Owen, fans couldn't help but also compare Ravi and Jack's rivalry to Steve and his arch-nemesis Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

Steve first arrived on the Square in 1998 and quickly became one of the most memorable soap villains when he murdered his obsessive ex-girlfriend Saskia Duncan (Deborah Sheridan-Taylor) and framed his DJ employee Matthew Rose (Joe Absolom) for the crime.

He then had a violent feud with Walford hardman Phil, before becoming enemies with Phil's best friend Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) due to their connections with Steve's girlfriend and future wife Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite). 

Their conflict kept escalating when Steve continuously antagonised the Mitchell family, before becoming the prime suspect in the 'Who shot Phil?' storyline.

Eventually, their long-term feud came to a brutal end in 2002 when Steve was killed in a vehicle explosion after he crashed his car during a car chase with Phil.

Fans took to Twitter to liken Ravi to the infamous Steve and thought that Ravi was a good villain...

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EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now. 

Grace Morris
Staff Writer

Grace is a digital writer with WhatToWatch.com, where she writes series guides, recaps and features for must-watch shows and delivers all the latest soap news and reactions. She graduated from Anglia Ruskin University in 2020 with a degree in Writing and Film Studies, which only made her love for creative writing, film and TV grow stronger.


You'll usually find her watching the drama unfold in the latest reality series or much-loved UK soaps (usually with chocolate by her side!). She's an expert in EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and everything reality-related from Selling Sunset and Married At First Sight UK to 90 Day Fiancé UK. Plus Netflix megahit Virgin River!


Grace also likes to explore new places with her friends and family and, of course, watch and read about the latest films and TV series.