Former EastEnders star Dean Gaffney has revealed he is turning his hand to comedy – and has a new show in the pipeline.
Dean, axed from the soap last year over claims he asked a stranger for sexy photos online, reckons his new venture is a cross between The Office and Larry David sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm.
He says: “Acting is my passion. It’s where my love is.
“There are a lot of shows you get offered when you leave a show like EastEnders and a lot of them I’ve turned down because it’s not where I want to be.
“But there’s stuff in the pipeline. I’ve got a comedy which I’m the main character in, it’s a bit like the Office mixed with Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Dean was axed from the soap last year over claims he asked a stranger for sexy photos online (Image: PA)
“It’s a bit out there and we’re talking to channels about that now. It’s completely different to EastEnders and that’s the thing, you have to keep working in this profession.”
Dean is back on screens next week in the new series of Celebs Go Dating, which sees famous faces trying to find love with normal folk.
He admits to enjoying the experience – until he heard the voiceover from sharp-tongued narrator Rob Beckett, poking fun at him and deliberately referring to him as his EastEnders character Robbie Jackson.
The comedian introduces him in the first episode saying, “A star of screen for more than two decades, albeit playing the same character. The man, the myth, the legend, Robbie Jackson. I mean Dean Gaffney.”
In another cutting remark, when dating agency receptionist Tom Read Wilson greets Dean with: “We’ve got acting royalty,” Rob asks: “Where?”
Dean has been single since splitting from model girlfriend Rebekah Rose-Ward (Image: Lia Toby/WENN.com)
Even the actor’s EastEnders dog Wellard gets a mention when Tom tells Dean how he cried when the pup died on screen. Rob says: “That was amazing acting to be fair. Dean was pretty good in it too.”
And it seems Dean’s not entirely happy with his treatment….
“I found the experience really good until I saw the first episode,” he says.
“We’re all at the beck and call of old Big Teeth himself, Rob Beckett. I’d love to see Rob in a pub after this on our own. He can be brutal. It’s fine, but when he looks like he does, he shouldn’t be brutal.”
Dean, 42, has been single since splitting from model girlfriend Rebekah Rose-Ward, 26, early last year and says he joined Celebs Go Dating in a genuine bid to find love.
Dean has no intention of becoming a reality TV regular (Image: ITV)
“I want to meet someone in my life now who I can literally do nothing with,” he explains. “I want that butterfly feeling, I want love.
“I think it’s very easy to put blame on others in relationships but I have to own up to why things haven’t worked myself.
“It’s harder when you’re older. I don’t want to be in a club these days, it’s about a good bottle of wine and a nice meal now. I’m at a different place in my life.”
The soap veteran admits to taking part in the show as he’s always been a fan in the past. “Celebs Go Dating is very cult, it’s tongue-in-cheek,” he adds. “I’ve always laughed at it so I thought I’d give it a go.”
Dean says he joined Celebs Go Dating in a genuine bid to find love (Image: bbc)
But things don’t get off to the best start when he is blown out by a girl called Martine at the first dating “mixer”. The famous EastEnders is played ‘duff duff’ before Dean tells her: “You must be a Corrie fan.”
But Dean reveals she did get in touch the following day. He says: “I did actually get a DM from the girl the next day saying, “I apologise, I just didn’t want to go on a date on camera”, so there you go.
“I think everyone, whether it’s to do with their relationships or their career, has been rejected in some way, shape or form. I think you’ve just got to take it as a man and just get on with it.”
Before agreeing to do the show, he checked with 23-year-old twin daughters Chloe and Charlotte and they were fine as long as he promised not to embarrass them.
Dean is back on screens next week in the new series of Celebs Go Dating (Image: PA)
“They were like, ‘Dad, just don’t embarrass us, have fun with it,’” he says. “I am sure after each episode they will be ripping the p*ss out of me on our WhatsApp group.”
Despite being written out of EastEnders in a plot which saw him go to visit son Sami in India, Dean has no intention of becoming a reality TV regular.
He says: “The way that I left EastEnders I’m just glad I’ve got an opportunity to give the audience a chance to see Dean rather than Robbie. It’s nice to get that across and do something so different from that show.
“But I’m not going to turn up on Celeb Farm or things like that now. This pays well, and after Strictly and I’m A Celeb, it’s the next best one to do but I don’t want to do more reality. It’s not for me.”
- Celebs Go Dating starts on Monday at 9pm on E4.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
