RICKY Norwood is best known for playing Arthur ‘Fatboy’ Chubb in the BBC soap EastEnders for six years.
He is now back on our screens hoping to impress the judges and show off his dancing skills in the latest season of Dancing On Ice.
Who is Ricky Norwood?
Born November 15, 1986, in Tower Hamlets, London, Ricky Norwood is a stage and screen.
The star kicked off his career by attending the Theatre Royal Stratford East’s Youth Theatre, followed by studying performing arts at Barking College.
Ricky is known for his work for the BBC, and Netflix.
On the stage, his theatre credits include Daddy Cool at Shaftesbury Theatre, Sick at the Almeida Theatre, and The Stones at the Royal National Theatre.
What is Ricky Norwood known for?
Ricky joined the cast of EastEnders playing Fatyboy in 2010.
However, the much-loved character was killed off by Ronnie Mitchell’s hitman in 2015, in a grisly Christmas storyline.
Since leaving EastEnders, Ricky has become more known for his work with Netflix.
He played Reggie in the Vanessa Hudgens movie The Princess Switch.
Ricky then reprised the part for the following two movies, Switched Again, and The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star.
Meanwhile before this, in 2016, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother where he proved popular with fans, and also his fellow housemates.
He was one of the favourites for victory but eventually finished second after losing out to shamed-reality star Stephen Bear.
In October 2023, it was announced that Ricky will be competing in the new season of Dancing on Ice.
Revealing the news on Loose Women, Norwood said: “I’m apprehensive about the lifts, especially the headbanger.
“I’ve got to trust in the process, trust in the training, trust in the trainers.”
The soap star joins a list of famous faces, including Made in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire, Ricky Hatton and Gogglebox star Stephen Lustig-Webb.
Why did Ricky Norwood leave EastEnders?
In 2015, Ricky was axed from EastEnders, after he was accused of bringing the BBC soap into disrepute.
It came after it was claimed he was caught on a leaked video performing a naked sex act.
The actor was also seen allegedly smoking cannabis during the eight-minute Skype clip which cemented his exit.
Whilst in the Celebrity Big Brother house, Ricky said he “held his hands up” to the scandal, before adding that his axing had left him “depressed”.
At the time of his exit, loyal fans begged producers of the soap to consider allowing the actor back onto the show.
Amid his controversial exit, a spokesperson for EastEnders said: “We can confirm Ricky is leaving. We wish him all the best.”
Is Ricky Norwood returning to EastEnders?
In August 2023, fans were thrilled when Ricky’s character Fatboy appeared in a flashback scene involving Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).
Fans were immediately convinced Fatboy could have been alive this whole time.
The soap star was “killed off” in a horrifying scene, where he was crushed in the back of car in a scrapyard.
But viewers never saw a body leaving many hopeful that he managed to get out of alive.
Some fans have conspired that Fatboy knows the witness protection officer Mary, and is also in witness protection himself – like Cindy.
Speaking about his surprise comeback to EastEnders, actor Ricky Norwood told Radio Times at the time: “I was absolutely thrilled to be asked by Chris Clenshaw to reprise the role of Fatboy for a flashback scene in tonight’s episode.”
“Being back in the Square felt like coming home and it was so lovely to see old friends and new faces – but of course I missed not having Mrs B there”, he added in reference to late Dot Cotton star June Brown.
However, EastEnders bosses are yet to reveal if Fatboy will be coming back from the dead full time.
What is Ricky Norwood’s net worth?
Ricky has an estimated net worth of around £1M.
This has been made through his previous EastEnders salary, plus his work with Netflix.
