Dean has a purpose for returning to EastEnders after seven years (Picture: BBC)
Dean Wicks’ (Matt Di Angelo) staged a truly shocking return to EastEnders on Monday (October 30), leaving Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) absolutely terrified as he cornered her in the kitchen.
The twisted villain ordered Linda, who he raped eight years ago, not to scream as he shut the door to drown our of her shock, leaving fans horrified as theybegan to speculate about what has brought him back after all this time.
Much like some viewers had suspected, Dean is the new business partner of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), whose identity was previously shrouded in mystery.
He makes it quite clear that he doesn’t particularly want to be in Walford, revealing that he has personal and, according to him, unavoidable reasons for staging a comeback after seven years.
‘In all honesty, Dean doesn’t want to come back’said actor Matt Di Angelo. ‘He’s sort of forced back there because his daughter, Jade is very ill. She has cystic fibrosis and needs a transplant, which has to be done at the hospital nearby.
‘Dean has to live there so he’s on call for her appointments and in case the transplant comes through, and they need to move fast. He’s reluctant because he knows the repercussions of returning, but ultimately, he has to help his family.
Dean arrived back in Walford on Halloween night (Picture: BBC)
Linda was devastated by his comeback (Picture: BBC)
‘Dean also needs to make a living whilst he’s there, so he’s invested in a new business, which will be revealed as Cindy and Ian’s new pie and mash shop, Beale’s Eels.’
In typical Dean fashion, the character will play the victim and protest his innocence once more, despite having already admitted to raping Linda during a heated showdown with her on New Year’s Eve in 2015.
The rapist, however, never paid for his crimes, having been found not guilty by a court of law, with subsequent scenes seeing him depart Walford after all of his family members disowned him.
Cindy and Ian are set to be stunned when they discover their silent partner is none other than Dean (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes / Kieron McCarron)
‘With Dean, it’s hard to know whether he accepts the fact that he raped Linda or whether he is so blind to his actions that he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong,’ admitted Matt. ‘You watch him, and you think, “How can he be so deluded?”
‘But I guess my job as an actor is to try and pick apart his inner psyche to see whether, deep down, he accepts that he’s raped Linda.
Dean was last seen in 2014 (Picture: BBC / Kieron McCarron)
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‘I don’t think his opinion has changed since we last saw him, and I think that the time that’s passed has only convinced him of his position. That’s what is so complex about him.’
While Dean’s return came as a shock to come, other had actually predicted such a thing in February after he was referred to during the history flashforward episode.
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In fact, it’s long been a theory that Dean is the body seen in the flashforward sequence, which sees Linda and a number of other iconic women standing over the male corpse in question on Christmas Day.
‘We know that Linda is involved in the Christmas storyline, and we also know that most people in the Square would like to see the back of Dean,’ said Matt, discussing the possibility of being the Christmas victim.
‘But everyone is going to have to wait to find out if Dean’s the body on The Vic floor because I’m not giving away any clues!’
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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There’s more to this comeback than meets the eye.
