Vinnie Monks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by comedian Bobby Davro.

Vinnie offers to take her to hospital but she wants to be in court for her son, Deano Wicks (Matt Di Angelo).

He spends all his money on a deposit on a flat in Walford and begs Shirley to move in with him, forcing her to choose between him and current love interest Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

When Phil shows no inclination of taking things further, a reluctant Shirley agrees to Vinnie's proposal and they begin living together.

Over the next few months, Vinnie gets a job as a taxi driver at the firm run by Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) and helps organise a Best of British day at the pub when Shirley is left in charge.

He later relents and gives her the keys to the flat, moving in instead with his mates Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) and Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi).

The following month, Vinnie returns from a holiday with Garry and Minty to find that his son Callum Monks (Elliott Jordan) has arrived in Walford and is squatting in their flat.

With this thought weighing him down Vinnie stops the car just outside Walford and tells Shirley to return to Albert Square as by staying with him she'd only be settling for second best.

[2] Davro has revealed that he auditioned for the role on the advice of actress Barbara Windsor, who plays landlady Peggy Mitchell: "It's through her really that I got this chance.

The casting of a comedian in a dramatic role was highly controversial at the time, but over the years the wisdom of that decision was proved, as Frank became one of the show's most popular and iconic characters.

[5] Other comic actors featured in EastEnders include Barbara Windsor (known for her roles in Carry On films) as Peggy Mitchell, and entertainer Shane Richie, who played Alfie Moon.

It puts a lot of pressure on me […] If [Vinnie] could be half as successful as Alfie Moon then I'd be well chuffed […] [Shane Richie] gave me some great advice…he told me to listen to the other actors and to learn your lines properly.