David Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael French.

David has been involved in various storylines, such as his troubled and dysfunctional reconciliation with his children Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Joe Wicks (Paul Nicholls), his volatile and equally dysfunctional relationship with his mother Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement), an affair with his sister-in-law Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), reuniting with Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) and struggling to cope with her diagnosis of breast cancer.

[3] An insider said that French repeatedly kept getting one line wrong and later stormed off set and refused to continue until crew members were able to calm him down.

[6] French returned to EastEnders as David Wicks in 2012 after more than 15 years away for the departure of Pam St Clement, who played his on-screen mother, Pat Butcher.

[8] Eighteen months later, shortly after leaving the BBC drama Casualty, French reprised the role full-time in September 2013.

[13] French expressed excitement, commenting he was "honoured" to be asked to reprise the role, reminding viewers that "it may only be a brief visit, but we know from his past that David never fails to create a lot of drama in a very short time".

[14] David Wicks was born on 21 April 1962, conceived by his mother Pat Harris (Pam St Clement) and her first husband Pete Beale (Peter Dean).

A few years later when David was growing up in 1966, his parents divorced and they subsequently went on to embark on a second marriage to their respective partners; Pat got remarried to her second husband Brian Wicks (Leslie Schofield), which led to the birth of their son Simon (Nick Berry); and meanwhile Pete got remarried to Pat's future best-friend Kathy Hills (Gillian Taylforth), who in turn gave birth to Pete's other son named Ian (Adam Woodyatt).

For the next few years, David - along with his brother and their mother - suffered abuse at the hands of Brian during Pat's turbulent marriage with him.

In 1979, the 17-year-old David moved to live with his girlfriend, Lorraine Foster (Jacqueline Leonard) and she ends up getting pregnant at an early stage.

A few weeks later he moves in Pat and soon goes into business with her stepson Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) with a car lot that they name "Deals on Wheels".

David receives a stark reminder of his past in the form of Carol and her large brood of children, who have just moved into Albert Square.

Despite being initially hostile towards David over his absence during the majority of her life, Bianca has a change of heart and is keen to bond with her father.

But the relationship is further complicated, when during July 1995, David confides in the Samaritans charity (unbeknownst to any of his family) that he still feels sexually attracted to Bianca despite the knowledge that he is her biological father.

Thereupon he clashed with Sam's two overprotective brothers, Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp), when they warned him to stay away from her.

It was then Sam convinced her mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) that she likes David, who appears to recuperate her feelings until they later break up.

David continues to feud with the Mitchell Brothers when they accuse him of taking advantage from their best-friend, Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), at one point.

The loss of friends and alienation of his family, together with Joe's worsening mental condition with schizophrenia, leads David to decide in leaving Albert Square for Milan.

Carol agrees, but following Pat's funeral, David is confronted by Derek, who is aided by his brothers Jack (Scott Maslen) and Max (Jake Wood).

Several months later in 2013, David unexpectedly arrives at Carol's house - thus interrupting her date with fellow neighbour Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) by saying he has a present for Bianca.

It is then David's girlfriend, Naomi (Lisa Maxwell), arrives with a suitcase of cash that they stole from her husband Don (Simon Thorp).

David realises that Max is in prison because he was set up by Carl White (Daniel Coonan) and that Ian is probably lying about being a witness.

On the day of the wedding, David suffers a heart attack and collapses in the middle of the Square, leading Carol to believe that he has jilted her again.

Following Bianca's return to Walford in September 2024 to prove her half-sister Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) innocence for the murder of Debbie Colwell (Jenny Meier), her best friend Kat Mitchell (Jessie Wallace) becomes concerned about her mental health and contacts Ricky.

They have a heart-to-heart and David apologises for abandoning her, but becomes concerned with her obsessive and erratic behaviour towards Sonia's partner Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman).

David then receives a shock when he finds out his former lover Cindy, who he has not seen for 28 years, is not dead as originally thought but alive and reconciled with Ian.

David has one final drink at The Queen Vic where he speaks with Cindy at her engagement party to Ian, telling he hopes it works out, before confronting Junior Knight (Micah Balfour) for taking advantage of Bianca a few months prior.

As David walks through Albert Square one last time he takes a video call from Joe and his daughter Holly (Chloe Marshall), confirming that he is heading on the train to go and see them and watch his granddaughter graduate.

[16] Upon the announcement of the character's return, Justin Harp of Digital Spy called David "legendary" and billed him as "Cindy Beale's notorious ex-boyfriend".

It's not just the old David Wicks charm that had us swooning through our rose-tinted glasses, it was all the little things, the mannerisms – right down to a quick swig of a brew or a mouthful of buttered toast.