Ricky Champ says Richard Graham will be involved in an "explosive storyline" when he joins 'EastEnders'.
Ricky Champ
The 'Titanic' star will guest star in the BBC One soap later this year when he appears as Ricky's alter-ego Stuart Highway's dad, and the plot looks set to explore his and brother Callum 'Halfway' Highway's (Tony Clay) "rough" upbringing.
He said: "Richard comes in and it's an explosive little storyline. It illuminates a lot about Stuart and his brother Callum's upbringing. It was rough."
Stuart has recently become a reformed character after he found Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield) and brought her back to her parents Martin (James Bye) and Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) after she ran away from home.
It comes after he was responsible for lying about Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) shooting him, and after he terrorised Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) during their younger years.
And Ricky admits his backstory will reveal all to fans about "why he is like he is".
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, he added: "Stuart is truly repentant for what he did and very sorry, and now he's made a few fans in the Square.
"He was ill when he did those bad things, and when someone is desperate they act desperately. It is a work in progress, but we will see a backstory in the coming week of why he is like he is."
Ricky previously admitted some of the soap's fans often tell him they "hate" him - but in the nicest possible way.
He said: "The vast majority of people, if they're fans of the show, are really lovely. They shake your hand, have a photo and say how much they're enjoying it. They're like, 'OMG, I hate you', but it's a nice 'I hate you.'
"It's been very interesting. I've tasted a bit of fame doing other TV shows, but nothing at all like this, nothing on the scale of this."
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