EastEnders' Fatboy 'putting mistakes behind him' on Celebrity Big Brother

Ricky Norwood, or Fatboy in EastEnders, hopes appearing on Celebrity Big Brother will help him put his mistakes behind him.

His character was killed off at Christmas in a brutal death which saw him crushed in a car compound.

Many speculated it was only a matter of time following Norwood's suspension from the show, two years earlier.

It was after a video leaked online which appeared to show him smoking drugs and exposing himself.

"I've stayed pretty quiet about it, took it on the chin," he tells Newsbeat.

Lots of fans campaigned to get Ricky back on the show - and he did return for 18 months.

Ricky Norwood as Fatboy in EastEnders with Dot Cotton

"I was lucky enough that they gave me another year and a half after that.

"Now what I would love for people to see is me for me and not by an article or a story that you only know half of."

We chatted to Ricky the day before he entered the Big Brother house.

"I'm not going to let a mistake in trusting somebody dictate what happens next.

Ricky Norwood as Fatboy with his on screen wife Mercy

"It had a lot of power over me at the time, but I am not going to allow it to have any more power of me any more.

"I'm here to let everybody know who I am and you'll get to see what type of guy I am.

"When I come out, it will be nice when people are talking about stuff in the paper, they'll be talking about Big Brother rather than anything before."

And he hopes this is a turning point.

"Well timing is everything... in my first year out [of EastEnders] it is a great opportunity.

"Firstly, to meet new people, but also to put my name out there and let people know me a bit more than just on screen."

He insists he won't be at the centre of any drama in the house, which is a stone's throw from his former job in Elstree in Hertfordshire.

Instead he says you will more likely find him in the garden, calming his fellow housemates down and reeling off EastEnders anecdotes.

As for his domestic skills? "I am a great sous chef," he says modestly.

"Not the main chef but when the chef is like 'chop that' I can chop that real good.

"But I won't mind washing up and house cleaning. When there isn't much to do I am sure those things will become fun."

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