Ravi returns to his old university

Middlesbrough’s Stephen Uppal is best known to over five million viewers as jack-the-lad Ravi Roy in the hugely popular Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks.

Stephen is also a Teesside University BA (Hons) English Studies graduate and returned to the Tees Valley recently to catch up with his family in Ormesby, Middlesbrough and meet with some of his university lecturers.

Stephen graduated from Teesside seven years ago and beat off strong opposition to gain a place on a three-year BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre at the prestigious Arts Educational Institute in London, whose previous students include singer Will Young. He was awarded a £9,000 scholarship from the Dance and Drama Council on the strength of his audition.

Gained leading roles In the final year of his second degree he starred in a small role in the film Red Mercury starring Pete Postlethwaite and Stockard Channing and then gained leading roles in touring versions of the musicals Joseph and Tonight’s The Night.

He later took to the West End Stage as a main character in Alan Bennett’s multi-award-winning The History Boys, followed by an invitation to audition for Hollyoaks. Stephen has just taken a short break from the soap to star in his second film, Freight, which premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.

Two of Stephen’s brothers and sisters have also achieved degrees at Teesside. He said: 'Teesside University has been very good for the Uppal clan! And it’s changed so much from when I graduated; it’s taking over Middlesbrough in such a good way.' He added: 'Studying English gives you such an opportunity to express yourself. It’s helped me to look at the world and my place in the world in such a positive way. When I studied for my second degree I was able to understand texts such as Shakespeare and look at the characters' journeys, thanks to what I’d learned at Teesside. I was able to help my fellow students and show them how to analyse the texts we were going to perform.

'The degree also strengthened my presentation and communication skills, so I have the freedom and confidence when going to castings to think critically and put my point of view across.'

Stephen is a former pupil of Nunthorpe School and Middlesbrough College.

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