Dean Wicks (known as Deano in his initial stint) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo.

It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer.

[2] Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations.

Since returning in 2023, Dean's storylines have included going into business with Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), continuing to deny that he raped Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), building a relationship with his daughter Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green), a brief romance with Cindy's daughter Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), tampering with Jade's medication to prevent her from moving to Pakistan, blaming Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) for Jade's subsequent failing health, and being framed by Linda, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) for the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) on Christmas Day 2023 during The Six storyline.

[6] The characters' introduction was branded by the press as an attempt to "spice up the show", following the announced departures of many popular and long-running characters, such as Sharon and Dennis Rickman (Letitia Dean and Nigel Harman), Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), Kat and Alfie Moon (Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie), Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) and Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth).

[4] Following his introduction, the character was involved in few high-profile storylines until September 2006, when his estranged mother Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) was introduced in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed in Weymouth, Dorset.

[7] In the storyline, the Wicks family went on holiday and were traced by Shirley, who liaised with her unsuspecting children and, despite Kevin's best efforts, later revealed her true identity.

[8] The revelation was shown to have a negative effect on the Wicks family, in particular Deano who was involved in a car accident shortly afterwards and was hospitalised after driving recklessly.

"[10] During his time on the square, he formed a sexual relationship with Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and performed sperm donation for Fiona "Tosh" Mackintosh (Rebecca Scroggs).

When Deano arrives in Walford in 2006, he persuades his great aunt Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) to take him in and is soon joined by his stepfather Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) and sister Carly (Kellie Shirley).

[13] Deano causes trouble by spiking Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) alcohol with drugs and allowing Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements) to take the blame, stealing The Queen Victoria public house's bust and driving recklessly, crashing a car – behaviour prompted by the anniversary of his brother Jimbo's (Lloyd Richards) death.

Chelsea and Deano swear revenge and frame Sean for the assault of Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker), stealing CCTV footage that would have exonerated him.

When Carly finds the stolen CCTV footage featuring the real culprit, Craig Dixon (Rory Jennings), she gives it to the police and Sean is released.

Afraid of spending time in prison, Deano attempts to run away twice before his trial but eventually faces up to his responsibilities and is sentenced to six months imprisonment.

He headbutts Sean and when Shirley says she wants to rebuild their relationship, Deano responds with exasperation, violently pinning her against a wall, shouting in her face, showing her his prison injuries, and stealing cash and jewellery from her.

In September 2012, Carly returns to Walford for two days and tells Shirley that Deano is doing well, owns a bar and lives with his girlfriend in Australia.

Dropping his former nickname, Dean returns to the UK and develops a relationship with his maternal grandfather, Stan Carter (Timothy West).

He acquaints himself with his mother's family, who now own The Queen Vic, but is unkind towards Shirley, verbally abusing her for her poor parenting, leading to Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) punching him.

He is attracted to, then, later, obsessed with Mick's partner, Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), who maternally hugs him after Shirley hurts him by stealing from him because she owes Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

He goes to stay with his sister, Carly, in York, but later returns and attempts to exact revenge on the Carters by breaking into The Queen Vic's cellar and trying to set it on fire.

He is released weeks later, without charge, due to a lack of evidence and agrees to remain in Walford with his parents, despite being made a local pariah.

Shortly after, Dean discovers that a one-night stand with Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar), years earlier, resulted in her becoming pregnant with his daughter, Roya, renamed Jade Green (Amaya Edward).

Devastated, Dean trashes Blades until Buster intervenes, then Shirley convinces him that Jade needs her father, so they carry out a DNA test to confirm paternity.

In August 2016, off-screen, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape, due to lack of evidence, and Buster pays him off, warning him not to return to Walford again.

After a series of harassments, Dean confronts Linda in The Queen Vic and is punched by her mother Elaine Peacock's (Harriet Thorpe) fiancé, George Knight (Colin Salmon), causing him to fall down the stairs.

They initially struggle to bond and their brief bliss is ruined when Linda and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) reveal Dean's history of rape in front of Jade.

When Jade decides to do a charity auction for cystic fibrosis patients, she receives assistance from Jean Slater (Gillian Wright).

When Jean can't find a venue for the auction, Linda grants her permission to hold it in the Queen Vic, provided Dean will not come.

Unbeknownst to Dean, Linda is trying to cover up the fact that she murdered Keanu on Christmas Day 2023, and has helped bury his body underneath the cafe floor.

[14][15] In February 2025, Radio Times ranked Dean as the 9th best EastEnders villain, with Laura Denby writing that his rape of Linda cemented him as "one of the biggest offenders of the genre".