Arthur ‘Fatboy’ Chubb is set to make a surprise return in ‘EastEnders’.
Ricky Norwood's character is reappearing on EastEnders in a flashback
Ricky Norwood’s iconic gangster is coming back to Walford via a flashback from 2014 on the BBC One soap on Tuesday (29.08.23) amid the reappearance of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and her reunion with her estranged husband George Knight (Colin Salmon) and their two daughters, Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford) after living in secret in Spain under the alias Rose Sawyer.
In scenes already available on BBC iPlayer, the 36-year-old soap star is seen amid Cindy’s explanation to why she abandoned her family after she found out about the death of her daughter Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) amid her heartbreak about George’s womanizing.
The episode - which airs on BBC One this evening (29.08.23) will weave in scenes from that time period, including include her ex Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) informing their son Peter that his twin was dead - like when Cindy and Mary Smith (Linda Davidson, 59) were talking in the chippy about how unsafe it was for her to be here and they were interrupted by Ricky, who was asking for the time, before chuntering about his upcoming social engagements and his pal and landlady Dot Cotton (June Brown).
Fatboy met his untimely fate back in 2015 after a case of mistaken identity by mobsters hired by Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womac), who thought he was Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood), who bundled him into the boot of a getaway car, which was later crushed.
However, speculation grew he was still alive when a sympathy card for Dot in her funeral episode, read “Mrs B - forever in my heart. Arthur x.”
Cindy’’s return was previously described as a twist that “nobody will see” on the horizon.
A source told The Sun newspaper at the time: “This has been done so secretively but it's going to be an absolute bombshell — an unbelievable twist. Ian and Cindy are one of the most memorable couples in soap history.
“But Cindy has been dead for 25 years — and nobody will see this coming. The biggest surprise is that Michelle has so often said there's no chance she'd come back.”