EastEnders fans will remember the face of bad boy Dean Wicks, played by Matt Di Angelo, who was caught up in some brutal storylines during his time on the BBC soap.
Matt, 36 has secured a string of TV roles over the years including regular roles in Hustle and Ordinary Lies, but his time as Dean on EastEnders is by far his most memorable. He first arrived on Albert Square in 2006 before he had a shock exit two years later, but in 2014 made a triumphant return.
During his second stint on the soap, Dean was involved in some traumatic storylines including the time he raped Linda Carter at the Queen Vic on Christmas Day in 2014. Linda was left devastated and viewers watched as she confided in her late husband Mick, before reporting the horrendous attack to the police.
Despite everything the charges were dropped and Dean continued to haunt Linda in Albert Square until he left in 2016. Dean's last scenes showed him being chased out of town by gangster Buster Briggs.
Real name
While he goes by the name of Matt Di Angelo in his acting career, his real name is slightly different. Born in 1987, the soap star's real name is actually Mario Angelo S Constantinou – reflective of his Irish and Greek parents.
Matt hails from Enfield, London and attended Southgate School before joining the infamous Sylvia Young Theatre School. This led him to secure major roles in BBC's The Hustle and EastEnders.
Cheeky interview
Away from EastEnders, Matt has proven to be quite the cheeky chappy as he joked about needing to cover up during sex scenes while appearing on This Morning back in 2016. Referring to a previous role he said: "Basically, when I was shooting a film in Prague I was given a triangle with a pot of glue. I had to stick this massive triangular piece of silk over myself."
Discussing his role and performance in BBC's Ordinary Lies, he added: "This time it was silk shower hat with string… I don't know why I caught your eye then", talking to host Christine Lampard who appeared flustered.
Strictly ex
Matt was known for his heated performance when he took part in Strictly Come Dancing back in 2007. During this time, chemistry grew between himself and his professional dance partner Flavia Cacace, which saw them date shortly after starring on the BBC show.
Their relationship lasted three years until they split due to work schedules. At the time, Flavia told The Sun: "We have broken up. It was due to our work – travelling so much and being away from home so much. We are still in touch and very good friends."
Father to twins
In August last year, the soap star became a father for the first time as he welcomed twins, a boy and a girl with his wife Sophia Parry. The couple had been married for just over a year before welcoming their twins into the world.
Announcing the happy news on his Instagram, Matt wrote: "My beautiful wife @sophiaperry has had two happy and healthy babies and begun raising them.
"[I'm] in the kitchen trying to work out the steriliser."
He added: "Welcome to the world", before revealing the names of his "dynamic duo" – Raphael and Daphne. Sophia went on to share their full names as Daphne Demitra Constantinou and Raphael Errol Constantinou.
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