Dean Gaffney has said he will return to EastEnders – when the time is right.
The Celebs Go Dating star was reportedly sacked from the soap last year after bosses became concerned about his behaviour.
He was quietly axed after his character Robbie went to India to visit his injured son Sami – and has not returned but that is just temporary the actor has insisted.
Dean told the Daily Star Sunday: “I had a meeting with the boss and they said, ‘The door is left open for Robbie and we will definitely see you in the future.’ .
“It will happen at some point. It’s just a case of when it happens. So I can’t complain about that.
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“It’s nice to know. It’s a bit cliched to say it, but I have been associated with that show on and off for 27 years and that’s a big chunk of my life. It’s like a family. It’s somewhere I love to be and you can’t buy that.”
When the news of Dean’s axing broke, a source told the newspaper: “Dean knows he’s made some bad decisions and he is working hard to get his life back on track.
“He split up from his long-term girlfriend and then he lost his job. But he knows he only has himself to blame.”
The source went on to add the actor had always been popular with the cast and the character is also so it is a “shame” he has gone.
The source added: “After everything that’s happened Dean realised that he had to completely change his lifestyle.”
Gaffney went on to spend time at a wellbeing retreat in Spain to give himself time to ‘reflect’ and take ‘a step in the right direction’.
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Posting a picture of himself at the nature-centred resort, Dean wrote: “I’m not that guy who goes to the gym all the time so I had to find another way of giving myself a goal, and this retreat was what I like to call ‘a step in the right direction’.
“My health is important. I need to always be aware of that, not just physically but mentally.”
An EastEnders spokesperson said: “We never discuss artists’ contracts.”
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