Dean Martin Gaffney was born on 14 February 1978 in Hammersmith, London. He grew up with his older brother Gary, and went to a school in Hounslow. Dean loved acting from a young age and trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, which produced many other EastEnders stars, including Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale) and Samantha Womack (Ronnie Mitchell).
2 Dean joined EastEnders in 1993 as Robbie Jackson, arriving in the Square with the rest of his family – mum Carol, stepfather Alan, and siblings Bianca, Sonia and Billie. Dean spent a decade as Robbie, and while he had several girlfriends, his most faithful companion was his pet German Shepherd, Wellard. He made brief comebacks in 2010 and 2015, before returning on a more permanent basis in 2017, when he embarked…