EastEnders’ Ricky Champ drops sneak peek at new Netflix role – his first TV gig since being axed by soap two years ago

FORMER EastEnders star Ricky Champ has shared details of his new TV role since he exited the BBC soap nearly two years ago.

The actor featured on the show briefly in 2009 and then reappeared as Stuart Highway from 2018 to 2022.

Ricky recently took to his Instagram and announced his new TV stint with a picture of him in character looking rough and dirty while holding a charred black rat on the end of a pointed stick.

The picture was captioned: "I wonder who this disgusting fellow is? Coming soon on Netflix…"

Fans took to the comments section and shared their excitement about the news, with one gushing: “Looking forward to this. Miss ya on the square.”

Another added: “Please come back to EE, it's awful without you.”

A third commented: “Finally! I watched all of Him and Her for the millionth time last week and decided you MUST be back on TV STAT.”

The 43-year-old didn't clarify what production he was working on, but during March last year, Ricky was seen working on the upcoming Netflix show titled The Decameron.

He shared pictures of himself filming in Italy alongside Derry Girls star Saoirse Jackson, Arrested Development’s Tony Hale and his former EastEnders co-star Jessica Plummer.

Ricky is taking on the role of The Mangy Bandit in the series, which is based on the book by Giovanni Boccaccio of the same name.

It's thought the series is Netflix's biggest international production in recent years.

On his IMDb page, information shared indicated that he has also been working on a production titled My Names Tim, in which he seemingly plays the role of a delivery driver for gangsters.

During his time on EastEnders, Ricky became a fan favourite while playing Stuart.

The star exited the soap in 2022 as his character's struggle with postnatal depression came to a head.

At the time of his exit from the hit BBC series, the star posted a carousel of images of him in character on his Instagram account.

He penned in the caption: "What a crazy, amazing journey. It's going to be strange not having this guy living in my head. Farewell, Mr Highway, it's been emotional #eastenders (thanks for the pics Jess @stuart_highway on Twitter)."

Fans and his co-stars flooded his comments section with plenty of praise, including messages from Milly Zero, who played Dotty Cotton, who said: "Incredible man and actor and so blessed to have worked with you, Rick."

Since he departed from the soap, Ricky has been performing in the West End, and last year summer, he starred in a thriller titled 2:22 A Ghost Story at London’s Apollo Theatre that saw several celebrities star in its notable cast.

In 2022, the actor welcomed a son into the world with his wife, Samantha, who had been in labour for 37 hours. 

The couple revealed in an interview that they named their second child River and shared that their four-year-old daughter, Beatrix, was delighted to be a big sister.

EastEnders is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and airs on BBC One.