List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2022
EastEnders is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2022, in order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's senior executive producer, Kate Oates, executive producer, Jon Sen, or his successor, Chris Clenshaw. The first character to be introduced is [|Nina Gupta] in February, who was introduced as the new GP. Lewis Butler, a man that Kathy Beale hires as the manager of her bar, was introduced in April, and Omar Lye-Fook debuted in July as Avery Baker, the brother of established character Mitch Baker. He was followed by his sons, [|Finley] and [|Felix]. Nina's stepson, Ravi Gulati, was also introduced in July. Suki Panesar's husband and the father of the Panesar children, Nish, made his debut in September and Reiss Colwell, a relative of Dot Cotton and a love interest for Sonia Fowler is introduced at the end of December. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] have appeared throughout the year.
Nina Gupta
Doctor Nina Gupta, played by Hersha Verity, made her first appearance on 10 February and departed on 9 November. She is a doctor who tends to Kheerat Panesar when he suffers food poisoning after eating a sandwich that he bought from Stacey's Baps. She reappears when Stacey Slater brings her mother Jean to a doctors appointment when she is convinced that Jean is having a manic episode. After Suki Panesar buys a doctor's surgery, she hires Nina to run it alongside daughter Ash Panesar.Verity was keen to portray Nina since she liked her characterisation, specifically noting her "complete confidence, no fear of failure, goes after what she wants." Hinting at the future of her character, Verity told Digital Spy: "There is a lot more to her that is slowly starting to unfold. She has a few wants and goals of her own that go far beyond the surgery. So I am excited for that to unfold!" She was also intrigued by Nina's connection to the Panesar family. She opined that Ash is a great character due to being emotional and reactive while also being feisty and speaking her mind. Verity hoped that Nina would form a long-term friendship with Ash.
On being cast on the soap, she said: "There is nothing like this kind of experience, it's so iconic. Just a part of British culture, so it's exciting, but that can be quite nerve-wracking! When I was walking through the corridors and saw the pictures on the wall, I felt a real sense of history. It just felt like I was part of something very special. You are stepping into history. It is a really nice place to experience being an actor." Verity's father would not allow her to watch EastEnders as a child so she found it amusing to be cast on the soap. Walking onto the set for the first time was an exciting experience for her due to being early in her acting career; it led her to "just take a moment and so grateful to have this experience".
Ranveer Gulati
Ranveer Gulati is the adoptive father of Ravi Gulati and husband of Nina Gupta who first appears in Episode 6446 on 7 March. He was played by Anil Goutam. He is killed off by Ravi in Episode 6536, which aired on 10 August 2022. He makes further appearances after his character's death when his body was moved in Episode 6589, airing on 10 November 2022 and then three episodes on CCTV footage in Episode 6683 on 19 April 2023 and then in Episodes 6767 and 6768, airing between 13 and 14 September 2023. The first video appearance he was uncredited for.Ranveer was a family friend of the Panesars who has entrusts Kheerat Panesar to build him a house in Mumbai. He was married to [|Dr Nina Gupta], who ended up becoming Ravi's partner. When he attacks Kheerat's mother Suki and tries to rape her in exchange for a business contract, she strikes him over the head with a clock. Ravi walks in and begins covering up the crime but Ranveer wakes up and begins attacking him. Ravi delivers the final blow to Ranveer's head, killing him, and later disposes of his body. Ranveer's body was found by a dog walker on 31 October 2022 and reported to the police, who then contact Ravi and Nina. When everyone else finds out, Kheerat accuses Ravi of killing Ranveer and threatens to go to police. Ravi tells him that Suki killed Ranveer. Kheerat later goes to prison, taking the blame for Ranveer's death.
After Ravi moves in with Chelsea Fox, her mother, Denise Fox, is furious. Denise discovers the CCTV footage of Ravi killing Ranveer on his laptop. She then tells Chelsea, Suki and Jack Branning. It was later revealed that Ranveer also attempted to rape Ravi's ex-girlfriend Priya Nandra-Hart, and later paid her to abandon Ravi and their son Davinder "Nugget" Gulati, threatening to have her killed if she ever returned. Unbeknownst to Ravi and Ranveer, Priya was pregnant by Ravi for a second time with Avani Nandra-Hart when Ranveer threatened her to leave. It was also revealed that he raped his PA Priti, who had told Ravi about it.
Roland Highway
Roland Highway is the son of Stuart and Rainie Highway, born on-screen via surrogate Bernadette Taylor in episode 6460 first originally broadcast on 30 March 2022. The character left along with Stuart and Rainie in episode 6513, originally broadcast on 25 August 2022.Stuart and Rainie first look for a surrogate after given the idea that this may work and potentially create a future for the both of them – Bernadette hears this and offers to be their surrogate after her family are struggling financially. Bernadette's mother Karen Taylor and half-brother Keegan Baker are initially against the idea but are later convinced to accept the decision. Stuart and Rainie eventually accept Bernadette after much consideration but struggle to conceive anyhow: Bernadette is overweight and can not carry a pregnancy to full-term. Regardless of this, they still proceed with the surrogacy and are delighted when Bernadette finally is pregnant. Bernadette gives birth to Roland and initially decides to keep him; though eventually gives him to Rainie and Stuart after realising that she would never be Roland's true parent and he is loved by the two. Roland leaves Walford with Rainie after her marriage to Stuart breaks down, but they return and leave Walford with Stuart for a new life in North London.
Lewis Butler
Lewis Butler, played by Aidan O'Callaghan, made his first appearance on 11 April 2022. He was introduced as the new bar manager of the gay bar, the Prince Albert, after being hired by Kathy Beale. He chats up Callum Highway, much to the annoyance of his husband Ben Mitchell. The character and O'Callaghan's casting was announced on 6 April 2022 and it was confirmed that Lewis would appear in a storyline involving Callum and Ben, when he approves of Callum's new LGBTQ+ campaign at work despite Ben's objections. Lewis and Ben go on a night out, but Lewis is faced with homophobic abuse. On 23 April 2022, it was announced that Lewis would be involved in a male rape storyline in which the character rapes Ben. It was also revealed that EastEnders would be working with charities including Survivors UK, Survivors Manchester, and the Male Survivors Partnership to make sure that the storyline is covered as sensitively and accurately. It was confirmed on 17 August 2022 that O'Callaghan has left the soap with his final scenes airing that episode.Avery Baker
Avery Baker, played by Omar Lye-Fook, made his first appearance on 4 July 2022. Avery is the estranged brother of Mitch Baker and will arrive with his sons Felix and [|Finlay]. Lye-Fook's casting and character were announced on 6 June 2022. Avery was described by Digital Spy's Justin Harp as having "a much different personality than his humble and caring brother". Avery is revealed to have a tense relationship with Mitch and Harp teased that it would potentially problems for him.On joining EastEnders, Lye-Fook said: "I've been watching EastEnders since I was at school so it's such a surreal experience to now be part of the show". He also added: "I'm having so much fun and it's an honour to be working alongside this incredible cast". Executive producer Chris Clenshaw added: "The Baker Family bring a fresh, fierce, fun and exciting energy to the Square. Felix and Finlay are two very different firecrackers and, yes, these brothers fall out, take the mick and challenge each other, but none of that compares to their unswerving love and loyalty they have for one another. They may be charming young men, full of sass, swagger and strength but these brothers are Bakers and, like their father, Avery, have their own unique way of surviving. Omar, Matthew and Ashley all bring star quality to EastEnders and we're excited to see them bring Avery, Felix and Finlay to life. The Baker family are the just the start of some new faces landing in Walford later this year – so watch this space…" Shortly after his introduction, his sons revealed to Mitch that Avery has terminal cancer; Metro confirmed that the storyline would result in his death.