Richard Colin Norwood (born 15 November 1986) is a British

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who played Fatboy in the soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' and its online spin-off '' EastEnders: E20''. Ricky appeared on ''

Celebrity Big Brother 18 ''Celebrity Big Brother 18'' was the eighteenth series of the British reality television series ''Celebrity Big Brother'', hosted by Emma Willis and narrated by Marcus Bentley. The series launched on 28 July 2016, just two days after the conclus ...

'' in 2016, finishing as runner-up behind ''

Ex on the Beach ''Ex on the Beach'' is a British reality television series that is broadcast on MTV. The series was first announced in February 2014, and premiered on 22 April 2014. The series is narrated by Andrew Maxwell. ''Ex on the Beach'' follows the forma ...

'' star

Stephen Bear Stephen Henry Bear (born 15 January 1990) is an English reality show participant and convicted sex offender who previously won ''Celebrity Big Brother'' in 2016. In March 2023, Bear was jailed for disclosing private, sexual photographs and film ...

Early life

Norwood was born in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, to a Kenyan Indian mother and English father. He lives in

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

. From the age of 12 he attended the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

's Youth Theatre, and also studied Performing Arts at Barking College. With friends, Norwood started a production company, writing, producing and starring in five original productions which were performed at the Theatre Royal Stratford.

Career

Norwood's theatre credits include ''Daddy Cool'' (Shaftesbury Theatre), ''Sick'' (Almeida Theatre) and ''The Stones'' (Royal National Theatre). In 2009, Norwood was cast in the ''

'' internet spin-off series '' EastEnders: E20'' as Fatboy. Norwood said of his casting: "I am so excited to be on the show. It's an honour to now be part of a show that has been on in my house for as long as I have been alive. I am born and bred in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

—a stone's throw from the real

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

. It feels like a homecoming. I love being part of a cast that feels like family and can't wait to have a scene in The Vic." In the run-up to the series, Norwood also appeared in ''EastEnders'' for two episodes, and after ''EastEnders: E20'' first series ended, Fatboy became a regular character in ''EastEnders''. Fatboy was called one of the most popular new characters in the show and Norwood won Most Popular Newcomer at the 16th National Television Awards in 2011. Norwood went on to appear in series 2 and 3 of ''EastEnders: E20'' as Fatboy, and has appeared in the spin-offs "

East Street East Street Market also known locally as 'The Lane', or 'East Lane', is a street market in Walworth in South East London. Location East Street is in the London Borough of Southwark and is between Walworth Road on the western side and the Ol ...

" and '' All I Want for Christmas''. He has also appeared as a panellist on ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

'' and ''

Sweat the Small Stuff ''Sweat the Small Stuff'' is a British comedy panel show broadcast on BBC Three, presented by Nick Grimshaw and featuring team captains Melvin Odoom and Rochelle Humes. Humes, formerly a regular panellist, replaced Rickie Haywood Williams ...

''. He took part in the 2013 Christmas special of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'', and was paired with professional dancer

Janette Manrara Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is a singer, Cuban-American television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance ...

. On 30 March 2014 a video surfaced of Norwood reportedly smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

, and performing a sex act during a

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

chat, captured by a woman he had met online. On 1 April, after meeting with BBC and ''EastEnders'' bosses, he was suspended from the show for two months. An ''EastEnders'' spokesperson told Digital Spy: "Ricky Norwood has been suspended from the show for a period of two months with immediate effect. In addition, Ricky would like to apologise to ''EastEnders'' viewers for any offence caused and for bringing the show into disrepute." On 16 October 2015 it was announced Norwood had been axed from ''EastEnders'' after nearly six years in the role of Fatboy, after show bosses chose to write the character out. Norwood filmed his final scenes later that month and producers chose to keep details surrounding Fatboy's exit under wraps. A show spokesperson said, "We can confirm that Ricky will be leaving ''EastEnders''. We wish him all the best for the future", whilst a show insider commented: "Ricky is a great guy and very popular on set. He's leaving the show as it's the end of Fatboy's storyline, but everyone wishes him well for the future." His last on-screen appearance was on 24 December 2015, and it transpired that the character was killed off-screen when crushed in the boot of a car. Norwood's first role after leaving ''EastEnders'' was as a "vile, violent homophobe" in Marty Ross's audio drama ''Romeo and Jude'', a gay adaptation of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''. Since 2016, Norwood has been a regular panellist on the '' Big Brother'' companion show ''

Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

''. He made several appearances in 2015 but more as a regular in 2016. In July 2016, Norwood became a housemate on the eighteenth series of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

''. He finished the series as runner-up behind

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norwood, Ricky 1986 births Living people English male soap opera actors People from Forest Gate English people of Kenyan descent British male actors of Indian descent British male actors of South Asian descent