Dean Gaffney says it was ‘harsh’ of EastEnders to axe him after his shock lewd text exchange… but admits he was on a ‘self destruct button’ following split from girlfriend
Dean Gaffney has spoken about why he feels it was ‘harsh’ of EastEnders to axe him after his split from his longtime girlfriend, Rebekah Rose-Ward.
The actor, 42, was let go from the BBC soap late last year after he reportedly ‘bombarded’ dental nurse Theresa Hayman, 26, with lewd social media messages in which he queried her breast size and asked for racy snaps.
Now Dean has spoken the The Sun about why he feels it was his ‘self destructive’ behaviour that led them to that decision and ‘doesn’t blame’ the soap.
Speaking out: Dean Gaffney has spoken about why he feels it was ‘harsh’ of EastEnders to axe him following his split from longtime girlfriend, Rebekah Rose-Ward
Dean’s first appearance on EastEnders was in mid-December 1993 and he appeared consistently until 2004. The character of Robbie returned in 2010, 2015, and 2017, after which he remained on the show until recently.
Last March, the actor was reportedly dumped by his model girlfriend Rebekah after three years together.
According to The Sun, this is because he begged a mum-of-two on Facebook to send him inappropriate photos after a string of racy texts.
Not meant to be: The actor, 42, was let go from the BBC soap late last year following his relationship of three years ending (pictured in 2018)
The actor- who has reportedly bedded over 1,000 women- is now claiming she ‘wasn’t a girl that was hard done by’ and she knew what she was doing.
Speaking about the kiss-and-tell, Dean said: ‘I didn’t just go in there like a Neanderthal asking for pictures, I went along with it and now it’s come back on me… it was not like she was brought to the table kicking and screaming.’
The actor blames his actions on a ‘self destruct button’ and has complained ‘the life of an actor is hard’ due to him now being out of work as a result.
‘I have a self-destruct button and people can’t understand why I press it, I have no idea why I pressed it’, Dean added.
Devastated: Speaking of his split, the soap star described himself as ‘suffering real heartbreak’ (pictured in 2018)
‘I think EastEnders just thought “enough is enough” – and I don’t blame them, they said to me, “you are either really bad at picking women or you need to sort it out, you need to go off and find out why you are doing these things”.’
MailOnline contacted EastEnders, who declined to comment.
Apparently after a period of self reflection that includes a wellness retreat, he understands why he was let go but is hoping for a second chance.
Throwback: The actor blames his actions on a ‘self destruct button’ and has complained that ‘the life of an actor is hard’ due him now being out of work as a result
Dean is now gearing up to appear on the new season Celebs Go Dating.
Speaking of his split, the soap star described himself as ‘suffering real heartbreak’ after the demise of his relationship but admitted the romance became toxic where ‘ I didn’t treat her right and she didn’t treat me right.
The last time the Lotharioa dipped his toe in the reality world was 14 years ago when appearing I’m A Celebrity.
Now he is nervously venturing back into the world of reality TV.
His 23-year-old twin daughters Chloe and Charlotte – whose mum is Dean’s childhood sweetheart Sarah Burge – have fully backed his decision to appear on the show and attempt to find love again.
Back in the game: His twin daughters Chloe and Charlotte, 23, have fully backed his decision to appear on Celebs Go Dating and attempt to find love again