EastEnders legends Minty and Garry have returned to Walford after 16 years as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations. Minty, played by Cliff Parisi, and Garry, played by Ricky Groves, came back for for Billy Mitchell’s stag do. Ricky said it was an “absolute privilege” to go back to the soap. And he spoke of his special bond his character shared with Minty. He added: “We always said that EastEnders is a bit like Shakespeare. You have your comedy characters, tragedy characters and you have your love characters and your revenge characters. You have got all those things to play around with. Gary and Minty were the Laurel and Hardy of the 2000s.“.
Ricky said the “chemistry came back within minutes.” He said: “We still keep in touch and it came very naturally. We worked together for such a long time, so it’s kind of like putting on a pair of old shoes.”. Cliff said stepping back on set was like “going back to an old house that you used to live in but the furniture has been moved around a bit. “ Reuniting with Ricky was “great fun.”.
He added: “It was a bit like being away for a very, very long time and living abroad and then coming back and going into your local pub. Few familiar old faces around really lovely to see everyone and work with them again. I really enjoyed it. “. Garry was last seen in 2009 having left Walford with wife Dawn on their wedding day with daughter Summer, while Minty left the following year having split from Heather Trott.
Last night’s show also featured its first-ever guest appearance from a current Premier League player. West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen appeared in the show as he recorded a special video message to character Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), a West Ham fan on and off screen, wishing him and his fiancé, Honey, best wishes ahead of their wedding. Jarrod - who is the son-in-law of former EastEnders actor Danny Dyer - said: “It’s great to be part of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebrations and appear on the show.
"EastEnders is loved by so many people and obviously has a strong link to the East London community, so to represent West Ham United in this very special episode is a really nice moment for everyone connected with the club.”. Chris Clenshaw, Executive Producer EastEnders, added: “We’re thrilled that Jarrod agreed to take part in our special celebrations as we lead up to our 40th anniversary. EastEnders has many dedicated West Ham fans, both on and off screen, so it’s a real honour that we can now say we have had the West Ham captain and England international appear in the show.”.
