Ricky Groves surprised EastEnders fans with a shock return to the soap alongside Cliff Parisi earlier this week.
The actor made a previously unannounced cameo appearance as Garry Hobbs for pal Billy Mitchell’s (Perry Fenwick) join stag and hen do with fiancée Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton).
Joined by Cliff as Minty Peterson, it was the first time the 56-year-old star had been seen in Walford in 16 years.
Ricky made his first EastEnders appearance as Lynne Slater’s (Elaine Lordan) other-half when the Slater family were first introduced in 2000.
And his role role lead to a huge development in his personal life, as it was where he met his first wife Hannah Waterman.
Hannah, who is the daughter of acting legend Dennis Waterman, played Laura Beale on the BBC soap between 2000 and 2004.
Two years after Hannah left the soap when Laura was killed off, she and Ricky tied the knot.
However, they separated in 2010, with Ricky admitting in a 2013 interview it had taken him ‘a long, long time to get over’ their split.
‘It was the lowest I’ve ever been,’ he told The Sun. ‘Our break-up hit me hard.
‘I always saw marriage as being for life. But as Mum said to me, “You had ten good years” and that’s how I see it too.’
While Hannah is now remarried and living in Australia – having recently popped up in Home & Away – Ricky found love again with a woman called Kay Russell, who he is reported to have married in 2015.
Shortly after Ricky left EastEnders in 2009, he appeared on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with professional dancer Erin Boag. The couple were the tenth to be eliminated.
In 2010, Ricky took part in the first celebrity series of Channel 4’s Coach Trip alongside former co-star Alex Ferns, who played EastEnders’ Trevor Morgan.
Ricky competed in the second series of ITV diving competition Splash! In 2014, and has also filmed guest roles in various TV movies and mini-series since leaving EastEnders.
Last year, actor popped up in adverts selling mould cleaner.
During his nine years in Walford, Ricky’s character Garry was involved in numerous comedy storylines after forming an on-screen partnership with Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi).
The character left the Square with then-girlfriend Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) and her daughter Summer.
Upon his comeback to Walford earlier this week, it was revealed Garry was now living in Minty and his new wife’s spare attic room, suggesting his and Dawn’s relationship had not stood the test of time.
