Dean Wicks

Dean Wicks (also known as Deano) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo. He made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer. Deano made his final appearance on 7 February 2008. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Deano, now called Dean, would be returning and he first reappeared on 11 April of that year. Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. In October 2015, it was announced that Di Angelo would leave the show in early 2016. The character is arrested for attempted rape with his final scenes set in court airing on 4 and 5 February 2016. On 19 August 2016, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape after standing trial off-screen. On 30 October 2023, Di Angelo made an unannounced return as Dean. On 15 July 2024, it was announced Di Angelo had finished filming with the show and Dean departed on 4 September 2024. Since returning in 2023, Dean's storylines have included going into business with Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), continuing to deny that he raped Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), building a relationship with his daughter Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green), a brief romance with Cindy's daughter Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), tampering with Jade's medication to prevent her from moving to Pakistan, blaming Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) for Jade's subsequent failing health, and being framed by Linda, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Suki Panesar...