Ex EastEnders star looks unrecognisable as he transforms into Panto villain after shock soap exit

AN ex Eastenders star looked unrecognisable as he transformed into a Panto villain after his shock soap exit.

Taking to social media, Ricky Champ of soap fame shared a string of images in his Captain Hook attire.

He donned the iconic outfit of the famed character, with a black curly wig on, red jacket and hook.

Ricky, 42, wrote: “Opening night at @croydonfairfield 


” and shared other images of himself on stage.

He also posted snaps of large rings he was wearing for the role, as well as a side on shot in his impressive wig.

The actor is famed for his role as Stuart Highway in the BBC soap, and Before joining EastEnders in 2018 as Mick Carter’s (Danny Dyer) nemesis, Ricky was known for his part as Paul Parker in the sitcom Him & Her.

He also appeared in Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Gatins.

In summer of this year, it was revealed that Ricky would leave the soap after four years.

He shared a tribute to his character on social media at the time, writing: “What a crazy, amazing journey.

“It’s going to be strange not having this guy living in my head.”

“Farewell Mr Highway, it’s been emotional #eastenders (thanks for the pics Jess @stuart_highway on Twitter),” the star added.

Around the same time, the actor welcomed a baby son into the world with wife Samantha.

The pair revealed in a new interview they named their second child River and their four-year-old daughter, Beatrix, is delighted to be a big sister.

Ricky, 42, told OK!: “River just felt right. We didn’t go through a book of baby names – we’ve always prided ourselves on our naming skills.

“I mean, we have two cats called Bruce Willis and Patricia Mayonnaise… that says it all really.

“We told Beatrix about the name River and she started calling him that to Sammy’s tummy when she was pregnant, so we were kind of locked in. But we love it – it’s cool and a bit hippie.”