Dean Martin Gaffney (born 14 February 1978) is an English actor, known for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC 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 ...

'' from 1993 to 2003 and 2017 to 2019; he also made guest appearances in 2004, 2010 and 2015. In 2006, he competed in the ITV series '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished in fifth place.

Early life

Gaffney was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. He attended

St Mark's Catholic School, Hounslow St Mark's Catholic School is a coeducational Catholic secondary school and sixth form with academy status, having formerly been a voluntary aided school, situated in Hounslow, West London, England. History In 1936, Father Wilfred Musgrave, Par ...

, and later trained at the

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

and the

Corona Theatre School Corona Theatre School (formerly Corona Academy) was founded in 1950 as a performing arts academy, operating in the region of west London. After the retirement of its owner, Rona Knight, it reopened as Ravenscourt Theatre School in 1989. Histor ...

in Kew Bridge.

Career

''EastEnders''

Gaffney's first appearance as Robbie Jackson in ''

'' aired in December 1993, and he remained in the role for 11 years. In 2003, executive producer

Louise Berridge Louise Berridge is a British historical fiction writer. She was previously a television producer and script editor, her most famous post being the executive producer of BBC's '' EastEnders'' between 2002 to 2004. During her tenure, the long-run ...

made the decision to axe Gaffney along with the actress

Bindya Solanki Bindya Solanki (born 24 May 1974) is a British actress. Solanki comes from Southend on Sea, the seaside town in Essex. Her parents are of Gujarati descent and emigrated to England in the 1960s. She attended Brunel University and graduated in 199 ...

, who played his on-screen girlfriend

Nita Mistry The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2001, by order of appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's executive producer, John Yorke. The first character to be introduced w ...

. In a press report, Berridge commented, "We do feel that the characters have reached the end of their natural course in the show, and they will both be leaving in Spring 2003". Gaffney made a further appearance in the soap, returning for a brief visit in 2004 for the wedding of his on-screen half-sister

Sonia Jackson Sonia Fowler (also Jackson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on and she departed on She returned briefly in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson fam ...

(portrayed by Natalie Cassidy). On 25 October 2009, it was announced Gaffney would briefly reprise his role as Jackson. In June 2015, it was announced Gaffney would once again briefly reprise his role as part of Coulson's departure from the show. On 17 April 2017, it was announced he would return to the soap full-time. Gaffney was written out of the soap in 2019 amid concerns over his behaviour off-set.

Other roles

In 1991, Gaffney played the Boy (alternating with another actor) in

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

's '' Waiting for Godot'' in the West End, alongside

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

and

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...

. In November 2006, Gaffney appeared as a guest star on the long-running ITV serial drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

''. Gaffney played Gavin Josef, a cocky wide-boy who was connected to an assault investigation. In 2007, Gaffney toured with the Agatha Christie Theatre Company, performing ''The Unexpected Guest''. He played Jan, a 19-year-old murder suspect with learning difficulties. During Christmas 2011, he appeared in pantomime at the Thurrock Thameside Theatre in Grays,

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. In 2015, Gaffney starred as Wishee Washee, in the pantomime ''Aladdin'', staged at The Brindley in Runcorn. In November 2022, Gaffney is due to appear in a charity football match in

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

Personal life

Gaffney lives in

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

. He and Sarah Burge are the parents of twin daughters, Charlotte and Chloe. Gaffney and Burge were in a relationship for 22 years and were engaged. While appearing on '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', Gaffney admitted to David Gest that he had had an affair. The couple split in 2015. In January 2013, Gaffney suffered serious head injuries when a car he was travelling in collided with the

central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ...

on the A38 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. Gaffney admitted he had not been wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident, and said "It could have been a lot worse. One inch down and I would have been blind. One inch up and I would have been brain damaged." In 2019, Gaffney was involved in two further car crashes, the first, on the M25 in Essex, the second, four months later, outside

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

Filmography

Stage

References

External links

*
BBC ''EastEnders'' cast profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffney, Dean 1978 births Living people English people of Irish descent English male soap opera actors Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School People from Hammersmith I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants