EastEnders Fans Uncover Potential Return Of Soap Villain After On-Set Clue

Between Michelle Collins’ comeback as Cindy Beale, and Jaqueline Jossa’s forthcoming reappearance as Lauren Branning, the EastEnders returnees have been coming thick and fast lately.

And now fans are convinced that another big character is set to walk back into Walford in the very near future – the villainous Dean Wicks.

Played by actor Matt Di Angelo, Dean left the BBC soap back in 2016 after being acquitted of the attempted rape of Roxy Mitchell (played by Rita Simmons).

But now, eagle-eyed followers of the show seem to have spotted Matt in the background of a photo which was taken in the Queen Vic pub.

“This BTS pic of current filming for Xmas eps, I swear this is Dean in the background..,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter.

The potential news comes after show boss Chris Clenshaw teased that Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright, will be getting a major shock this Halloween.

The Queen Vic landlady – who was raped by Dean back in 2014 – is facing her first year without husband Mick (Danny Dyer), who is presumed to be dead after drowning in a horrific car crash last Christmas.

“Poor Linda’s struggling this Halloween as it’s the first one without Mick,” Chris previously told Inside Soap. “Obviously she wasn’t with Mick this time last year, but Halloween was very much their thing, and something they did together in the Vic.

“So, she’s trying her best to make a go of things, but she gets one hell of a surprise that she doesn’t bargain for…”

And fans will also know that a huge Christmas storyline is set to go down, which was hinted at in a dramatic flash-forward episode back in February, and showed Linda, Suki Panesar, Stacey Slater, Denise Fox, Sharon Watts and Kathy Beale standing over a male body in the Walford pub.

The identity of the victim and the killer are yet to be revealed – but with Dean’s potential return to the street, could this be the way he meets his grizzly end?

A source told The Sun: “Dean is the ultimate villain so to bring him back was a genius move especially with everything that’s coming up this autumn. There’s also the small matter of the big murder at Christmas, could it be Dean’s body under the tree?

“We know that Linda is one of the women involved, and this just throws another name in the mix. It’s a very exciting time.”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.