EastEnders' Ricky Norwood on his close friendship with June Brown

Our hearts were left broken last Christmas when EastEnders’ Fatboy was killed off in the most brutal way possible, with viewers left devastated at the thought of his elderly best friend, Dot Branning, learning of the news.

Almost a year on and Dot remains in the dark, with Vincent Hubbard convincing her that Fatboy really left the country and he has even been forging postcards from the lovable character to give to Dot.

Now Ricky Norwood, who played Fatboy, has opened up about his real-life relationship with June Brown, the 89-year-old actress who plays Dot, revealing that they are just as close off-screen as they were on.

Speaking out about their unique friendship, Ricky gushed: “Me and June had a great friendship. I loved looking after her and bringing her cake and tea just the way she liked it before we’d sit and go through lines.

“I’d talk through what the street slang meant, and she’d learn it and say things like, ‘Ricky, I like your garms [clothes].’ In the summer I even bought her a pair of super diva Tom Ford sunglasses.

“You should have seen June rocking them out on the Square!”

That’s definitely a sight that we would love to see!

As viewers never saw Fatboy’s body, it has been widely speculated that his character may not actually be dead and that he is due to make a sensational return to Albert Square this festive season – something that Ricky has remained tightlipped about.

However, he did admit that he was honoured to have been giving the iconic Christmas storyline last year, adding to Inside Soap magazine: “There are still petitions going on. I get told, ‘We want Fats back’ on a daily basis, whether it’s a message on Twitter or somebody I meet in the street.

“I’d never really had a Christmas storyline, and I liked that it was a secret that I knew would shock people. But I didn’t expect to get the response I did!

“To have that impact on the nation, with a character who was supposed to be on ‘EastEnders’ for three months, was amazing!”

We’re certainly going to keep our fingers crossed that he will return to Walford someday!