Rick "Minty" Peterson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Cliff Parisi.

Minty made an unannounced return on 12 February 2025 with Garry Hobbs who attended Billy and Honey Mitchell’s joint stendo.

Minty Peterson arrives in Albert Square in March 2002 as the landlord of Kenwyn House, where he rents bedsits to troublesome tenant Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), her enemy Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman) and later Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement).

Towards the end of the year, Phil requests Minty to help plant drugs at the nightclub owned by his top-dog adversary Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).

In 2004, Minty helps Sam oversee Phil's business and even bonds with their cousin Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick).

By the time Christmas has emerged, Sam ends up relinquishing the Mitchell's dominance on the square after Den cons her into giving him full ownership of The Queen Victoria public house.

At time goes on, Minty has formed a close friendship with his co-worker Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) at Phil's garage.

Problems emerge in 2006 when Minty falls in love with Australian stripper SJ Fletcher (Natasha Beaumont) – who Garry suspects is up to no good.

Heather hopes that the marriage is genuine, but Minty breaks her heart a few weeks later when she catches him kissing another woman.

Minty attends a pottery class in March 2009 and meets Phil's old girlfriend, Manda Best (Josie Lawrence), whom he has not seen for 20 years.

Despite his relief that she is not, he discovers that Phil is actually having an affair with Garry's girlfriend Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon).

Minty bumps into Sam (now played by the original actress Danniella Westbrook again) in The Queen Victoria, where she is in hiding after returning from Brazil where she has been on the run for four years, to avoid prosecution for her role in Den's murder that occurred on the same night Andy had died.

When Manda's son Adam (David Proud) comes to stay, he finds the number in the bin and asks Minty about Sam.

Manda suspects Minty is having an affair and tells Adam, who searches for evidence and finds a letter that Sam has sent him from prison.

Minty and his flatmate Darren Miller (Charlie G. Hawkins) plan to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

Minty goes out with Heather to buy an engagement ring, but when he sees Sam again, she says she only agreed to marry him to shut him up as she was in pain.

Minty later catches Heather wearing her wedding dress, and later goes to talk to her about it but she reveals she is making it into a christening gown.

Minty later tells Sam he will help her with her baby, Richard, any time she needs, and she later kisses him, saying he is a good man, and he reciprocates.

Minty makes an unannounced return in 2025 alongside Garry, when both arrive at Billy and Honey Mitchell’s (Emma Barton) joint stendo.

He was only due to appear in a few episodes, but actor Cliff Parisi's contract was extended and Minty was turned into a series regular.

"[2] Minty was paired as friends with another male bachelor, Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves); on-screen both worked together as mechanics and eventually moved in with each other as flatmates.

[4] In 2007, a line said by the character, referencing the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 where 96 people died in a crowd crush during a football match, received complaints.

Onscreen, Minty discussed the event as part of a storyline covering football hooliganism, saying "Five years out of Europe because of Heysel, because they penned you lot in to stop you fighting on the pitch, and then what did we end up with – Hillsborough."

"[6] Cliff Parisi and Ricky Groves were given the "Best Double Act" trophy at the All About Soap Bubble Awards in 2007, for their portrayal as screen friends Minty and Garry.

[3] In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Minty 73rd on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him a "big softy" who was "unlucky in love and life" and had "a laddish double-act bromance with Garry".