Who is Dean Wicks in EastEnders? And what did he do to Linda?

*This article contains spoilers from Monday's episode on BBC iPlayer, which is yet to air on TV*

EastEnders villain Dean aka Deano Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) made a horrifying return to Walford after seven years.

As the Halloween party got in full swing at the Vic, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) called Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) about their new business partner for their pie and mash shop.

Ian revealed he had reviewed the contracts and saw the name of their partner, telling Cindy some shocking news.

While all of this was going down, a taxi pulled up in Walford and a smartly dressed mystery man stepped out and made his way upstairs in the Vic.

As Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) put her son Ollie Carter (Harry Farr) to bed, she went into the kitchen and was terrified when she came face-to-face with Dean, who warned Linda not to scream in a sinister cliffhanger.

Fans were speculating his return after soap boss Chris Clenshaw teased a huge Halloween shock for Linda.

On top of this, viewers spotted a picture on social media that appeared to show Dean sat at the bar of the Vic, supposedly confirming his return to the Square.

So who is Dean Wicks and what did he do to Linda in EastEnders? If you need to refresh your mind on who the twisted villain is now that he's back, you can find out below...

Who is Dean Wicks?

Dean/Deano is Shirley Carter's (Linda Henry) son, who arrived in the Square in 2006. He was a troublemaker who caused chaos in Walford, until he was sentenced to six months in prison for framing Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) for the assault of Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker).

Following his release, Dean was traumatised by his stint in prison and violently attacked Shirley who wanted to repair their relationship. After rejecting his mother, Dean left Walford and moved to Australia.

When he returned in 2014, Dean turned into a much more sinister character and terrorised the women of Walford, particularly Linda and Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons).

What did he do to Linda in EastEnders?

During his reign of terror, Dean raped Linda at the Vic and attempted to sexually assault Roxy.

Linda told her husband Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) about the horrifying ordeal on Christmas Day 2014, which led to one of the most dramatic showdowns in soap history as Mick furiously attacked Dean.

At the same time, Shirley made the shocking revelation that Mick and Dean were brothers and that she was Mick's mother, not sister, which Mick had grown up believing.

Dean was last seen in 2016 after being arrested by the police for the attempted rape of Roxy. Prior to this, he tried to kill Shirley at Mick and Linda's wedding.

However, he managed to evade justice and his dad Buster Briggs (Karl Howman) paid him off, warning him to never return to Walford again.

Earlier this year, Linda was left traumatised when Shirley's daughter Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) posted a photo of her mother-in-law that had her rapist Dean in the background.

Linda was reeling at the discovery, especially since Shirley disowned him for everything he had done.

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.