Dean Gaffney revealed he is determined to return to EastEnders, so he can rack up 1,000 episodes.
The 44-year-old has appeared in 978 since he started in 1993 as Robbie Jackson. His last scenes were in 2019.
Dean said: “I’ll get that 1,000th episode because I will probably go back.
“I’ve been back and forward, like a yo-yo on EastEnders five or six times. Probably the most of any actor on the show. My first stint was just under 11 years, I think I got to about 700 episodes then.
“It’s very easy to rack up those episodes if you’re in them. But unless you’re Danny Dyer and you’re in the Queen Vic you’ll not be in every episode.”
Dean became a household name after joining EastEnders as schoolboy Robbie, who was always seen with faithful Alsatian Wellard.
He left in 2004 but reappeared in 2010, 2015, and from 2017 to 2019.
Robbie left Walford to look after son Sami, who had been in an accident in India.
Dean said of being in a soap: “It’s a very easy gig. All they ask of you is to be on time and know your lines.
“Because you get paid per episode now, most people will have a look [at the scripts] and go, ‘Brilliant, I’m in the episode but I don’t have much. I can play golf.’”
Dad-of-two Dean admitted joining the soap “changed my life”.
He told the Matt Haycox Show podcast : “Who knows where I would be if I didn’t have that show? Working in Burger King?”
Dean has been linked to a Russian model named Valerina who is 25, the same age as his twin daughters Chloe and Charlotte. He split with their mum Sarah Barge in 2015 after 22 years.
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