EastEnders favourite has barely aged a day as he reunites with co-star 15 years after soap exit

EastEnders star Ricky Groves, known for playing Garry Hobbs, looked as though he has barely aged a day since leaving the soap 15 years ago in a new snap as he reunited with a former co-star

Ricky Groves, famed for portraying Garry Hobbs in EastEnders, gave fans a blast from the past this week as he reunited with his former co-star Jamie Borthwick this week. Jamie – who is set to appear on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing – has starred in EastEnders since 2006 as Jay Brown, and shared a snap with Ricky as they saw one another again.

Posting the picture to his Instagram Stories, Jamie wrote: “Legend”. Soap star Ricky looked like he hadn’t aged a day since exiting EastEnders 15 years ago either, with the actor wrapping his arm around Jamie and beaming for the camera.

**Jamie Borthwick posed alongside Ricky in a new snap this week**

His character Garry first appeared on Albert Square back in 2000 – arriving as the ex-husband of Lynne Slater (Elaine Lordan) and father to Vivienne Hobbs.

He was involved in a number of tumultuous storylines – including losing an unborn baby with Lynne and a suicide attempt, but being saved by character Minty. Garry left the square alongside Dawn Swann as they moved away together and were written out of the show.

In 2009, Ricky starred in Strictly Come Dancing, so was potentially giving Jamie some tips ahead of his appearance on the BBC dance show.

**Jamie is set to appear on Strictly Come Dancing this month, which Ricky has done in the past** (Image: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Although, Jamie does have some experience on the dancefloor, as he appeared on the December 2023 Christmas special of the show. In that festive edition, paired with pro dancer Nancy Xu, Jamie wowed the judges and viewers by bagging a perfect score of 40, showing off his dazzling skills.

While he previously confessed that he has turned down the show in the past, telling OK!: “They have asked me actually”, and added, “I can’t remember what year, 2018 I think. But it didn’t work out so I didn’t end up doing it. But… yeah.”

Jamie joins stars such as Sam Quek, Nick Knowles, Paul Merson, Montell Douglas, Tom Dean, Sarah Hadland, Shayne Ward and more.

Bosses on the show will hope the return of the action will take a spotlight away from issues that have dogged the show amid a long-running investigation into alleged mistreatment of celebrity contestants.

The BBC had spent a solid three months probing into allegations of rehearsal room bullying, sparked by a complaint against professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, who has denied any wrongdoing. Despite the lengthy investigation, the report’s conclusions are still being kept under wraps.