Dean Gaffney is to return to ‘EastEnders’ on a full-time contract for the first time in 14 years.
The 39-year-old actor is reprising his role as road sweeper Robbie Jackson in the BBC One soap and is thrilled to be reunited with his cast mates.
According to The Sun newspaper: he said: "I’m really happy to be back.
"I’m so lucky to be given the chance to work again with such a talented group of people. A big thank you to Sean and the team.
"I think it’s going to be a lot of fun."
The soap’s executive producer, Sean O’Connor added: "I’m thrilled to welcome back Dean as Robbie Jackson, one of EastEnders’ most loved and most popular characters.
"Bridge Street Market has never quite been the same without Robbie policing it in his hi-viz jacket.
"Dean brings a wonderful warmth and fun to his portrayal of Robbie and I’m sure that audiences will take him to their hearts again, just as they have always done."
Since he was axed from the show in 2003, he returned for a few episodes in both 2004 and 2010 for various Jackson family events, and in September 2015, he made a brief comeback for his mother Carol Jackson’s [Lindsey Coulson] send-off.
Robbie is set to return from India where he has been living with his wife Nita.
Dean said in October 2015, that he was keen to return for a longer stint on the soap so he can find out just what trouble his character has got himself into since moving abroad.
He said: "It would be interesting to see where Robbie’s been. It’s been nice to dip in for these eight episodes but they haven’t really gone down the route of what Robbie’s actually been up to as obviously it’s feeding into Lindsey’s [Coulson] storyline, who plays Carol, so it would be interesting to see if they want to take that up in the future."
Robbie is set to return to Walford in the coming weeks.
Dean Gaffney returning to EastEnders as Robbie Jackson
