BBC one’s flagship soap EastEnders has introduced an epilepsy storyline in tonight’s episode, portraying absence as well as tonic-clonic seizures and the effects of epilepsy on a person’s life.
Davinder ‘Nugget’ Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury)’s condition is first hinted at at the beginning of tonight’s episode while he’s having a driving lesson with his family in the car.
Nugget makes an emergency stop to avoid hitting Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton), and appearing stressed and overwhelmed, he ends up having an absence seizure. When his dad Ravi (Aaron Thiara) asks if he’s okay, Nugget puts it down to zoning out, and Ravi tells him he needs to focus when he’s driving.
Later in the episode, we see Nugget about to have another driving lesson with his mum Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy), as Ravi is waylaid and can’t make it.
About to get in the car, Nugget has another absence seizure. Priya assumes he’s ignoring her and jokes that that won’t get him out of having a lesson with her.
At the end of the episode, Ravi shows up, late for the lesson, and he and Priya begin arguing. Watching from the driver’s seat of the stopped car, Nugget has a tonic-clonic seizure, and then we hear the famous ‘duff-duff-duffs’.
Could this be the result of Ravi unwittingly attacking Nugget while spiked and hallucinating in an episode last month? The episodes are available now on BBC iPlayer.
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Representing real life
Driving is often an issue for people with epilepsy, with strict rules around driving if you have seizures. Epilepsy Action says you must tell the driving agency about your seizures.
Epilepsy Action has been championing representation in the nation’s favourite TV programmes, helping to ‘normalise’ the condition and build understanding around its nuances.
Jon Eaton, director of communications at Epilepsy Action said: “We’re really pleased to see another emerging epilepsy storyline on national television.
“Last year, epilepsy came to the cobbles, and now it’s back in Albert Square. This consistent representation across UK soaps is something Epilepsy Action has been striving for.
“Epilepsy affects one in 100 people in the UK, so it’s realistic that at least one character in a busy community like the Square is living with the condition.”
Showcasing the nuances
Jon continued: “Following Nugget’s story in today’s episode, it’s especially encouraging to see representation of the lesser-known seizure types.
“Many people in the epilepsy community feel frustrated by the lack of public awareness around absence, focal and other non-tonic-clonic seizures.
“Watching a character experience multiple absence seizures in a single episode, is a significant step forward toward more accurate and authentic representation.
“Some viewers may not have noticed that Nugget was having a seizure in these moments – much like the characters assuming he was daydreaming or ignoring them – and recognising this misunderstanding is important in itself.
“All of us at Epilepsy Action will be following Nugget’s storyline closely as it unfolds. At such a pivotal stage in his life, a teenager looking forward to learning to drive, a diagnosis of epilepsy could put an abrupt end to any sense of ‘normality’ for Nugget.
“We hope the soap continues to explore the difficulties that can come with this, and how an epilepsy diagnosis can be life changing.”
EastEnders is the latest in a string of recent programmes to feature epilepsy in its storylines. ITV’s Coronation Street and its Corriedale crossover episode both portrayed epilepsy and seizures over the last few months. ITV drama After the Flood also had the condition as an element in its central plot.
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