Ravi Roy

[lizann]

Ravi Roy is dealt a knockout blow later this month when doctors reveal he has a brain aneurism.

And the strapping fella is shocked to learn it is so bad he could drop dead at any second.

Ravi - played by Stephen Uppal, 26 - is alerted to his potentially fatal condition after collapsing and being taken to hospital.

[angel_eyes87]

I read the spoilers for the week that this happens, but I never once thought it could be a brain tumour.

[tammyy2j]

I dont like any of the Roy family couldnt care less what happens to any of them

[angel_eyes87]

Dont get the point of them either, I mean Hollyoaks could have had a great storyline going with Anita, but it was over in a matter of episodes, I mean surely something that serious cannot be brushed under the carpet that quick, but this being Hollyoaks, you miss an episode and miss an entire storyline.

[Katy]

Maybe this could change the way people are with the characters. It is only a possibility. I dont think i will change my opinion though. I havent liked any of the family since they arrived.

[LostVoodoo]

I read the spoilers for the week that this happens, but I never once thought it could be a brain tumour.

a brain tumour isn't the same as an anuerism. you can sometimes operate on tumours or give medication to make them smaller, but an anuerism can be there for years and years with no affects and then one day it bursts and that's it. its a pretty grim storyline for poor Ravi.

[angel_eyes87]

I meant to write anurism, but it was too long to write I thought they were similar, my bad glad that he has a friend to turn to in Kris.

[Perdita]

Hollyoaks' Ravi Roy - played by 27-year-old Stephen Uppal - receives some life-changing news next week when he's diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm. However, when his brother Ash (Junade Khan) embarks on a new business venture and begins to arrange a bare-knuckle boxing match for his younger sibling, Ravi is faced with a tough decision: go ahead with the fight and risk his life to impress his brother, or dodge the head-to-head for the sake of his health. His decision becomes slightly weightier when he discovers who is opponent will be. What will Ravi choose to do? And who is his secret opponent? We gave Stephen a call to find out more.

Ravi's world comes crashing down around him in a few weeks' time. What happens?
"Basically, it's an encounter with Zak's older brother that starts the alarm bells ringing. Caleb finds out about Ravi's sexuality and even though they've been getting on really well, Caleb sees Ravi in the village and just hits him out of the blue and that shocks Ravi to the hilt. He's used to being picked on - probably for his race - but this is the first time that anyone's ever hit him because of his sexual preference. It's after this punch that he starts to suffer from really bad headaches and he has his first blackout.

How does he handle it?
"He really starts to get worried. He's used to fighting because of the nature of his job and he's boxed since he was a kid, but he's never experienced anything like this. It's only when he has another encounter in the SU bar that Kris suggests he should go to the hospital. Kris forces him to get checked out and what we both think is a really bad concussion turns out to be an aneurysm. We all know that in the real world if something like this came about you wouldn't just go into a hospital and come out three hours later knowing the result, but obviously in soapland you can't keep the audience waiting that long! So basically he goes in to get checked out and comes out three hours later knowing that he has this aneurysm."

Does this bring Kris and Ravi closer together again?
"They're both mature men but it really brings them closer together than when they were a couple. When they were together, though, Kris just thought "he's a gorgeous bloke, I'm having a bit of fun here". There was never anything deep and meaningful from his point of view - it was Ravi who ended up falling for Kris, surprisingly enough. But now their relationship's taken to another level because you realise that Kris does genuinely have strong feelings for Ravi as a friend and he does care about his wellbeing and his welfare. There are some really nice moments between them that take Ravi by surprise because after the way they broke up, he's not expecting it."

Are then you're being dragged into the realm of underworld boxing by Ash…
"As per usual, Ash does it in the sneakiest, most underhand manner possible! Basically, Ravi doesn't realise he's going to be doing illegal bare-knuckle boxing - he thinks his brother's organising genuine legal boxing matches in a ring with gloves and a referee. It's not till the last minute that he finds out. He confronts Ash about it and says that he's not going to fight. Ash, however, goes on about how it took him months to arrange it all and that with legal fights, you have to go through medicals. As soon as the word 'medical' is mentioned, alarm bells start going off in Ravi's head - he'd never pass a medical in his condition. Ravi just wants to live a normal, healthy life so agrees to it, which takes Ash by surprise."

Ash doesn't know about the aneurysm at this point does he?
"No. When you box, you're not allowed to fight unless you've had a full medical check by a doctor, so as soon as Ash mentions that, Ravi realises that he'll never be able to fight. But the only thing that Ravi's ever been good at is fighting. He doesn't particularly like to fight as he's not an aggressive, violent person. He doesn't show off but for once in his life, he wants people to respect him instead of laughing at him. Even when he came out of the closet to his mum and dad, they took it as a joke - he's never been taken seriously and all he wants is for people to see that he is actually good at something. If you take away Ravi's athleticism and his sportsman personality he's got nothing, and that's the hardest thing for him to handle."

Where does the first fight take place?
"It's in a derelict car park so Ash has basically scouted about and found somewhere really out in the sticks so there's no chance of police or passers by getting wind of what's going on."

Do we know who he's fighting?
"You will do. At first it's just a random opponent but at the last minute, the arranged person can't make the fight for some reason. Ash starts to panic because he's put a lot of money into it all. On top of that, he's dealing with some really nasty people, so if the fight doesn't go ahead he's probably going to end up getting his legs broken. He desperately starts searching for another fighter. Ash knows that Calvin's down on his luck Ash convinces him to fight for money. Neither of us have a clue that we're fighting each other, and it's not until that last minute when I'm in the ring and Calvin steps in that the penny drops. There's a bit of a tussle where we're both not fighting because we are both good friends, but it's too late by then - the crowd's gathered and we have to fight."

Who would win a fight between you and Ricky in real life?
"In real life? Well I'm a lover not a fighter so I'll let Ricky have that one - he'd probably turn round and say the same thing though!"

Where does it all go from there?
"He feels as though he's been given a new lease of life and for once his brother's respecting him and admiring him and he's got all these people - these horrible, horrible people - rooting for him and he feels a sense of power with these ruthless dangerous men who are just sucking up to him. Ash starts to get a buzz from doing it and starts to really enjoy it, as does Ravi. Ravi's buzz, though, comes from the adoration and respect he gets from his brother. All his life, he's lived in his brother's shadow. He's always been the black sheep of the family, while his brother's always been the favourite. All he's ever wanted is for his brother to love and respect him. He's never had that until this moment.

So it's Ravi trying to gain the respect of his brother versus his health?
"Yeah. Ravi knows that if he gets struck in the head that he could die."

More from 'Hollyoaks' boxer Ravi Roy

Remember my interview with Hollyoaks series producer Lucy Allan earlier this year? Teasing about what's to come for the Roy family, she said:

"In terms of the family, we've got a lot of sibling rivalry building up and Ravi's going to end up facing a big, life-threatening decision later on in the year that's going to throw a bit of a bomb in that household."

And a bomb it is - Ravi's diagnosed with a brain aneurysm next week and quite soon he'll be faced with an extremely tough decision when his brother Ash (June Khan) pushes him into the world of Fight Club-esque underworld boxing.

With the knowledge that one blow to the head could kill him, will Ravi go through with the fight to impress his brother? Click here to read the main part of the interview. Read on, though, for a few excerpts from my recent chat with Stephen. Here, he discusses his bisexual plot, keeping fit and his new film called Freight...

Do you box in real life?
"I do - I've boxed on and off since I was about 13 years old, so it's quite natural to me. Because of the camera angles, though, there are certain ways that you have to stand and punch. Things you wouldn't necessarily do if you were boxing for real."

Wasn't this meant to be a Warren (Jamie Lomas) storyline?
"Well, when they get a more able actor in to do storylines… I'm only joking! Jamie's one of my really, really good friends. Warren had so many different storylines on the go, so they probably couldn't fit it in with him. It suits Ravi a lot more, though, I think. Warren's more of a dodgy businessman who's quite handy - he's not a fighter."

Is Ravi's love life pushed onto the back burner while this storyline plays out?
"Yeah, his head's in a different place. He's constantly training and not focusing on his love life.

How have they dealt with the bisexual storyline?
"I think they've dealt with it really well. When it's something as big as this, you sit down with the writers and the directors and you discuss everything. I thought that it was about time that a soap portrayed a bisexual or gay character who isn't overtly feminine or camp. You get them in every other soap - you see Coronation Street, EastEnders and even Hollyoaks with John Paul - he was quite camp in the way he was playing the part because that's how the character was meant to be played. But with Ravi, he's just this very masculine lad. He can fight - he's a boy's boy and I think it's great because it's never ever shown in soaps that 'normal' people can be gay and it's not a caricature. He's not stereotypical."

How did you react to the fact you would have to kiss guys on screen?
"To be honest that's never been an issue. I'm an actor and if I can't play roles that put me outside of my comfort zone, then I can't class myself as an actor. Whether it's playing a paedophile, a murderer, a rapist - they're all roles that you should be able to handle in a mature, sensible way as long as it's to drive the story and not just for sensationalism then it's fine. That's never been an issue for me - if it had been, I wouldn't be in the profession."

How do you juggle filming with keeping fit?
"To be honest, it's not a problem for me at all. I like to get out of bed early and get things done - it keeps my mind fresh and keeps me focused."

Did you have to make more of an effort recently?
"Not really, I've always kept super-fit. I had to work a little harder, though, because I was released from filming Hollyoaks to do a film, and in the film I needed to be a lot skinnier, so I lost a stone and a half for that. I had to work a little harder when I returned to Hollyoaks to get that muscle back for this storyline otherwise it wouldn't have looked real!"

How long are you sticking with the show?
"I'm here for the foreseeable future. I'm having a ball - I'm really enjoying it. They've given me the chance to go off to do other projects like this film. It's a lovely place to work and I've had some great material, so I've got the best of both worlds."

What's the film you're in?
"It's called Freight. It's written and directed by a guy called Stuart St. Paul and it stars Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass and Danny Midwinter. It's a British gangster film and I play a young scrawny lad called Zaf who's engaged to the boss's daughter. A trailer of the film went to Cannes and it's been bought by Icon Films, so it should be coming out at the end of the year."

Are you involved in Hollyoaks Later this year?
"No, not at the moment. There are two sets this year. I'm not in the first lot, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be in the second. It's all up in the air at the moment."

From DS

[tammyy2j]

Ravi Roy dices with death when he takes part in an illegal street fight with Calvin Valentine.


The terrified hunk agrees to the punch-up despite knowing one blow to his head could rupture his brain aneurysm.


Yet despite his deadly condition it’s bent copper Calvin who ends up *being rushed to hospital.


Our Hollyoaks source said: “Ravi is being bullied into the fight by big brother Ash, who sees it as a money-making opportunity.

“He starts training hard but keeps passing out due to dizzy spells. Knowing the fight could kill him, Ravi writes a goodbye letter to his family.


“Calvin doesn’t want to fight *either but he’s desperate for the £1,000 cash which Ash has *promised him.


“Calvin offers to throw the fight but Ravi is too proud to accept and they are involved in a bloody battle.


“Calvin is knocked out and *taken to hospital.

“And despite feeling sorrow for his *opponent, Ravi is relieved he is still alive.”


See the fight on Friday July 17 at 6.30pm on Channel 4.

[tammyy2j]

He gets with Jem Costello