Matt Di Angelo has denied reports that his ‘EastEnders’ character Dean Wicks will leave Walford later this year, following the upcoming rape storyline, which sees him attack Linda Carter.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Matt would be leaving Albert Square after the plot unfold, however the actor has now taken to Twitter, labelling the reports “bulls**t”.
Matt Di Angelo
The soap’s bosses also tweeted following a number of queries from confused fans, writing: “We never confirm contract details however there is absolutely no truth that @matt_diangelo is leaving this Autumn. #EastEnders #mattdiangelo.”
The Daily Star initially claimed Matt was set to leave later this year, reporting him as stating: “I signed a very short contract. I went back to make an impact in a short time.”
Both Matt and Kellie Bright, who plays Linda, have previously discussed the upcoming storyline, which will see Dean sexually assault his aunt, who has spurned his advances multiple times in recent months.
“I feel honoured to be given the responsibility of raising awareness of such an important issue,” Kellie told The Sun. “To be entrusted with this storyline, which will not only highlight the issue but also educate against myths surrounding rape, is a privilege.
“The statistics that I have learnt from researching this subject matter are so shocking that I hope by ‘EastEnders’ tackling this storyline, it will help make small progressive steps towards changing people’s perceptions of what rape is.”
“This is an extremely challenging storyline but an incredibly important story to tell,” Matt explained. “Kellie and I have been lucky enough to have the support of everyone at ‘EastEnders’ and Rape Crisis have been extremely helpful with our research.”