Dean Gaffney chats about starring as Robbie Jackson in EastEnders and why he'd like to see the return of Grant
Soap favourite Dean Gaffney returned to EastEnders a year ago to play Robbie Jackson, so we had a quick catch up with Dean to find out how he’s enjoying Walford life again….
Are you loving being back in EastEnders?
Dean Gaffney: "It’s good to be back, it’s a good time for EastEnders at the moment. We’re on the way up!"
Is there anyone you’d like to see come back to Albert Square?
DG: "Someone like Ross Kemp coming back as Grant Mitchell would be nice to see. There are certain big characters you always want back and Grant was always a big character."
Robbie has gone up in the world now he’s Walford’s market inspector, hasn't he?
DG: "Yeah, It was nice for him to be back with a bit of a promotion and with him doing something good for once! Robbie was always guilty of getting things wrong and messing things up so it’s been a nice change."
You previously spoke about the show needing older actors…
DG: "I was a bit misquoted but it’s always nice to have a good mix. We once had actresses like Pam St Clement who played Pat and obviously Barbara Windsor who played Peggy Mitchell - it needs that age. We’ve now got people in their 50s and 60s."
What was your reaction to the news that Barbara Windsor has Alzheimer’s?
DG: "It’s very sad. It’s always sad when it happens to anyone but obviously with Barbara being such a legend it’s not nice to hear."
Any tips for actors having to learn lines?
DG: "When I went back I was eating black grapes because someone said black grapes are good for your brain, so I thought I’d try it out. I think it’s working! Black grapes are great for learning lines. You’ve just got to get back into it, the brain is a muscle and you need to keep it working."
EastEnders continues on BBC1 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
