EastEnders star has a dramatic exit from the soap that will air very soon, and they have already filmed their final scenes and quit Albert Square
The BBC have confirmed that Matt Di Angelo, who plays Dean Wicks on EastEnders, is leaving the soap and has already finished filming his final scenes. In a message on social media, a spokesperson for the series wrote: “Farewell to the marvellous Matt Di Angelo AKA devious Dean Wicks. From all the cast and crew at EastEnders… Thank you, you’ll be missed!”
Executive producer Chris Clenshaw also posted a video to wish Matt well. “I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Matt for giving us one of the most vile characters, one of the most hated characters in Britain and on British TV. Thank you for coming back and playing out this next chapter of Dean’s story.” Matt joined the soap as Shirley Carter’s son Dean – originally known as Deano – in 2006 and his character was described by the BBC as “cocky, charismatic, with an eye for the ladies and doesn’t see anyone as out of his league.”
He was in the series for two years before Dean left for Australia in 2008, and then he returned in 2014, opening a local salon called Blades. It was during his second stint in Walford that Dean raped Linda Carter, a storyline that Matt described at the time as “an extremely challenging storyline to play but an incredibly important story to tell.” Despite eventually being charged with the crime, Dean was acquitted due to lack of evidence and once again left Albert Square.
His return in 2023 was a shock to the square’s residents as he continued to harass Linda and cause unrest elsewhere. His intense storylines, which included being wrongly accused of Keanu’s murder for which he is currently standing trial, have led to Matt being nominated as Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards in 2024, alongside actors including Calum Lill (Coronation Street), fellow EastEnder Navin Chowdhry, who plays Nish, and James Chase (Emmerdale), with the winner to be announced later this month.
How exactly Dean leaves Walford remains to be seen, but fans have already taken to social media to praise the tense trial leading up to his exit, as he stands accused while the Six – Linda, Sharon, Stacey, Kathy, Denise and Suki – who know what really happened (and whodunnit) look on. Viewers were especially thrilled to see the six women in court, wearing clothes in the same colours as they wore on the day of Keanu’s demise, with Sharon in white, Linda in pink, Kathy in purple, Suki in a blue jacket, Denise in green and Stacey in a red blouse.
One fan tweeted: “Love that #TheSix are wearing their colours from Xmas night to the trial. Nice little touch there @bbceastenders #EastEnders.” Another added: “Not The Six wearing their iconic colours to court. I love these little details. #EastEnders,” while a third said: “NO, THE WAY THEY’RE ALL WEARING THEIR 6 COLOURS ooo EastEnders is getting good again!”
One viewer was totally here for the fashion statement, tweeting: “The Six women wearing their Christmas colours to court is such a serve #eastenders”. Another fan showed their love for the coordinated look, posting: “I love how The Six are wearing their colours for court today. #EastEnders.”
