Ricky Butcher

Fictional character in EastEnders

Ricky Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest running male protagonists to feature in EastEnders. Owen originally left the role in 2000 to pursue a music career. However, he reprised the role in 2002 before being axed by producer Louise Berridge in 2004. In 2008, producer Diederick Santer introduced the character for a third time, along with his wife Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). Ricky is portrayed as unintelligent, simplistic, easily led and bossed around by dominant personalities. On 26 February 2011, it was announced that Owen would take a temporary break from the show. The character exited on 19 July 2011, returning five months later on 13 December 2011. Ricky left EastEnders on 17 January 2012. Ricky returned to EastEnders on 20 June 2012 for the wedding of his sister, Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), before departing for the final time on 29 June 2012. In April 2016 he had voiced his interest in returning to EastEnders during an appearance on Celebrity Juice. He reprised his role as Ricky for an eight week stint from 1 December 2022 to 26 January 2023.

A teenage Ricky arrives in Albert Square when his father Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) becomes landlord of The Queen Victoria public house in May 1988. Non academic, Ricky proves to be a troublesome teenager and is frequently berated by his father. He begins dating Shireen Karim (Nisha Kapur), an Asian Muslim, much to Shireen's father Ashraf's (Tony Wredden) disgust. Ashraf forces Shireen into an arranged marriage, prompting Ricky to retaliate by terrorizing Ashraf for a while with a gang of racists. Later on, Ricky shows talent mending cars, so the Mitchell brothers, Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp), take him on at their auto repair shop as an apprentice mechanic in 1990. Ricky begins dating the Mitchell brothers' younger sister Sam (Danniella Westbrook) and when she decides she wants to get married at 16, she and Ricky elope to Gretna Green in 1991. Their marriage is short lived, as Sam grows bored and starts to look for entertainment elsewhere; she leaves Ricky in 1993. Despite a one night stand with Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) in January 1994, Ricky does not enter into another serious relationship until August, when he begins dating Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). They move in together, but when Bianca begins to treat Ricky badly, he begins an affair with her best friend Natalie Price (Lucy Speed), in 1995. Natalie falls in love with Ricky and sets it up so that Bianca catches them kissing. Furious, Bianca finishes with Ricky, cutting up all his clothes and, after Ricky rejects Natalie, she flees Walford. Bianca eventually forgives Ricky and they reunite. Bianca strays with Lenny Wallace (Des Coleman), but immediately realises her mistake and marries Ricky on 17 April 1997. Later that year Bianca falls pregnant, but a prenatal scan reveals her unborn baby has both spina bifida and hydrocephalus; the Butchers decide to terminate the pregnancy. The trauma devastates them both, but it does bring them closer and in September 1998 Bianca discovers she has fallen pregnant again, resulting in her prematurely giving birth to their son Liam on Christmas Day 1998. The following year, Ricky becomes acquainted with Bianca's mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) and her boyfriend Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass). He quickly gets along with the pair, but this changes when Carol tells him that Bianca and Dan have embarked on an affair as the pair had previously had a relationship in Spain, prior to Dan falling in love with Carol. When the affair becomes public knowledge, the Butchers' marriage ends and Bianca departs with Liam for Manchester. Ricky, devastated by his marriage breakdown, begins to clash with Dan when the latter taunts him as well as becoming unhappy with his own life and work. This escalates when Ricky learns that Phil has recently befriended Dan, who later tells Ricky that Phil and Roy have been working together on a motor scam. In response, Ricky confronts Phil and the two have an argument as Ricky attempts to leave Walford. Phil apologises to Ricky for hurting him and promises that he'll deal with Dan for him. Ricky initially agrees to return to Walford, but secretly leaves without Phil's consent.

In May 2002, Ricky arrives to Bianca’s flat in Manchester to visit Liam alongside his fiancée Cassie. He discovers that Bianca has stolen £50,000 of drug money from her boss, Vince. An unimpressed Ricky convinces Bianca to return the money before she gets hurt. Vince sends the pair to a drug deal which is a set up. Ricky and Bianca escape to a hotel where they briefly rekindle their romance. Bianca reveals that she is struggling as a single parent and is manipulated by Cassie into believing that Ricky's life would be ruined if Bianca returns to him. Bianca decides to leave Liam with Ricky and hitches a ride to a destination unknown.

Ricky returns to Walford in August 2002 with Liam after hearing from his former stepmother Pat Evans (Pam St. Clement), that his sister Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) has resorted to prostitution and drug abuse by Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick). Ricky remains in the square to help Janine and returns to his old job as a mechanic at the Arches. He begins a second affair with Natalie, which ruins her marriage to Roy's son Barry (Shaun Williamson). By then, Roy and Pat have formed a marriage together. Roy soon passes away after suffering a fatal heart attack amid learning about the affair and that Pat had kept it secret at the time she found out about it herself. Ricky and Natalie subsequently plan to leave Walford together in 2003, but when Janine spitefully informs Natalie about Ricky's one night stand with his ex wife Sam (now played by Kim Medcalf), an outraged Natalie dumps him. Janine goes on to marry Barry for his money and accidentally kills him during an argument on a cliff. Discovering his sister's role in Barry's death, Ricky disowns Janine and leaves Walford again in February 2004 horrified and ashamed.

On 31 March 2008, Ricky returns to Walford unexpectedly with his sister Diane Butcher (Sophie Lawrence) to inform Pat that Frank has died. Frank is cremated in Walford the following day. Ricky's fiancée Melinda (Siobhan Hayes) attends, but soon finishes with Ricky when she discovers he is penniless. The Butcher siblings and Pat scatter Frank's ashes in Albert Square gardens after the reading of his will. Ricky returns the following week when he discovers Bianca and Liam are living with Pat after being made homeless. Despite initial hostilities, Ricky helps Bianca regain custody of her four children, who have been put into care, and then decides to remain in Walford himself, to be near Liam. Ricky hopes for a reconciliation with Bianca, but she is involved with Tony King (Chris Coghill), and when Tony is released from prison later that year, he moves in with the Butchers. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, Tony is a paedophile and is having a secret relationship with Bianca's stepdaughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty). When this is uncovered, Bianca finishes with Tony and he is imprisoned. Bianca reveals that her youngest daughter, Tiffany (Maisie Smith), could actually be the daughter of Ricky, conceived on their one night stand in 2002. This is confirmed when Ricky takes a paternity test. Phil orders Ricky to locate Sam (played by Danniella Westbrook again) in Brazil and he brings her home with him. When Bianca is about to admit her love for him, Ricky reveals that he loves Sam. Ricky and Sam get engaged. However, Sam embarks on an affair with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and when Bianca discovers this, she tells Ricky and the engagement is called off. Bianca surprises Ricky by proposing and they marry for a second time in February 2010. Six months later, Ricky discovers Sam is pregnant and due to give birth to a boy. It is unknown whether Ricky or Jack fathered Sam's baby. To Bianca's chagrin, Sam smugly names Ricky as the father and decides to call the baby Richard, after Ricky, but a paternity test reveals she is lying and the baby is Jack's. When Bianca is jailed for attacking Connor Stanley (Arinze Kene) in 2011, Ricky struggles to support his children, so he accepts a job in Dubai where he is arrested for indecency after being caught swimming naked in the sea. He is fined and deported, leaving him with no money upon his return to Walford. From prison, Bianca blames her family's money problems on Ricky, and Ricky seeks comfort from Mandy who has returned to Walford. After reliving their youth and taking drugs, Ricky and Mandy have sex again. Later, Mandy confesses that their one night stand in 1994 left her pregnant, but their baby daughter, Kira, died shortly after birth. Ricky immediately regrets having sex with Mandy and decides not to tell Bianca upon her release from prison; however, Bianca discovers the truth on New Year's Day 2012, the same night the Butchers are left distraught by Pat's death from pancreatic cancer. Following Pat's funeral, Bianca realises she cannot forgive Ricky's latest infidelity; she ends their marriage, forcing Ricky to leave Walford. He returns in June for Janine's wedding to Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), along with Tiffany, Morgan and Diane. Janine goes into premature labour and Ricky sits with his newborn niece, Scarlett Moon (Amelie), as she fights for survival. Later, he argues with Morgan's biological father, Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn), about their parenting methods, but they call a truce. He becomes Scarlett's godfather at her baptism, along with Whitney as her godmother, before leaving with the children again. In August 2015, off screen, he agrees to let Liam and his girlfriend Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) live with him in Germany. He advises Liam against taking money from the Beales and offers to train him to become a mechanic. When Janine returns in September 2021, she reveals that Ricky could not cope with COVID 19 and the subsequent lockdowns, causing him to suffer a nervous breakdown. In March 2022, Tiffany joins Ricky in Germany with her husband Keegan Butcher Baker (Zack Morris). It is revealed that despite Ricky living in Germany for years, he does not speak the language.

Ricky returns to Walford in December 2022 when Bianca's half sister Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) calls him after becoming concerned about Janine's mental state. He is later reunited with Sam (played by Kim Medcalf again). He bonds with Janine's fiancé Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and reassures Janine that Mick loves her after she suspects that he is having an affair with his ex wife, Linda (Kellie Bright). Ricky redevelops feelings for Sam but she is not interested in another romance. Mick persuades her to give Ricky a chance and they go on a date and later attend Mick and Janine's wedding together. On Christmas Day, Janine is exposed for blackmailing Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine Smith) into planting empty wine bottles around Linda's house, knowing she is a recovering alcoholic, and subsequently leading to her temporarily losing custody of her infant daughter Annie, with Scarlett (now played by Tabitha Byron) also revealing that Janine had previously framed Linda for drink driving. Janine flees Walford when Linda threatens to call the police, abandoning Scarlett with Ricky and Sonia. She later returns after a car chase leads to Janine and Linda driving off a cliff and crashing into the sea, and Mick being presumed dead after rescuing them. Janine later tries to manipulate Scarlett into retracting her statement about the previous car accident with Linda. Disgusted by Janine's actions, Ricky calls the police himself, leading to her arrest. Ricky and Sam go on another date on New Year's Eve, and Ricky asks Sam to move to Germany with him once he secures sole custody of Scarlett, but she does not respond immediately. Sam later abandons Ricky when she receives a text from Phil, inviting her to join him and the rest of the family in Peggy's bar to welcome in the New Year, leaving Ricky disappointed. The next day, Sam apologises to Ricky and agrees to move to Germany with him and Scarlett. Ricky proposes to Sam in the middle of Albert Square, but she rejects his proposal, admitting that she is not interested in marriage again. Sam later tells Ricky that she cannot move abroad with him because her twelve year old son, Ricky Jnr (Frankie Day), is about to become a father and needs her support. Ricky then bids farewell to Sam and Sonia before departing for Germany with Scarlett. In February 2024, Ricky sends Linda a photo of Mick and Janine's son.

EastEnders had been on air for three years before the character of Ricky made his first screen appearance in May 1988. At the time, big changes were occurring "behind the scenes". Co creator Julia Smith took "a more back seat role" as Series Producer, which allowed producer Mike Gibbon to take control of the making of the programme.

Portrayed as a soft touch and unintellectual, the character has been dubbed "thicky Ricky" by the popular press in the UK — in the serial he failed all his GCSEs. Sid Owen has discussed Ricky's intellect: "Ricky is just a sort of lovable innocent, really. He's just bungling his way through life the best way he can. All right, so he'll never win any prizes for his brain power. So what? He's a good bloke, a good mate to his friends and he can work miracles with motors [ ] What you see is what you get where he's concerned." Noting the changes his character went through in 2000, Owen said, "[Ricky] grew up over the years just as all of us have to change. He became more sensitive and more mature." To the anger of her family, Sam persuaded Ricky to elope to Gretna Green in July 1991. The week's worth of episodes focusing on their marriage were filmed on location and have been described by former EastEnders scriptwriter, Colin Brake, as a "farce like chase round the country". Written by Debbie Cook, the storyline saw Ricky and Sam's families, including Sam's mother Peggy (Jo Warne; introduced specifically for this plotline) attempting to stop the couple from saying "I do". The storyline climaxed in the registry office wedding, but despite the Scottish setting, the recording of the episodes took place in Hertfordshire. The marriage was portrayed as problematic, fraught with interference from their families, lack of money, and Ricky's jealousy of Sam's partying and her modeling career, including a topless photoshoot. On screen, Sam's marriage to Ricky ended following an affair with a yuppie named Clive (Sean Gallagher).

Ricky's relationship with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) has been central to his narrative; their affiliation began in 1994. Palmer and Owen already knew each other before working together on the soap, as both attended the Anna Scher theatre school. Owen has said, "We practically grew up together. We'd known each other for years. It was weird when she started on the show and we began playing the 'Ricky & Bianca Get To Know Each Other' bit. I had already spent a lot of time with Patsy. I think we were both seven when we met." dim witted "loser" or "soft touch", comically under the thumb of his female counterpart. James Rampton from The Independent has commented, "to her eternally put upon husband, Ricky, Bianca was a ferocious reincarnation of H Rider Haggard's 'She Who Must Be Obeyed'." Bianca was notorious for shouting the catchphrase "Rickaaaaaaay!" (a cockney pronunciation of Ricky) at her lover. It has been suggested that Bianca's catchphrase — "Rickaaaaaaay!" — transitioned, becoming "shorthand for any sort of heinous henpecking." On screen Natalie and Ricky found themselves sidelined and bullied by Bianca, forcing them together and leading to their eventual affair, which continued for several weeks on screen, with Ricky seeing both Natalie and Bianca. The storyline reached its climax on 21 February 1995; 17.0 million viewers tuned in to witness Bianca discovering that her boyfriend was sleeping with her best friend. The characters were shown to reconcile later in the year when Ricky supported Bianca through a personal crisis — the revelation that she had unknowingly tried to seduce her estranged father David Wicks (Michael French). Various crises between the characters were featured over the following years, causing them to break up and reconcile numerous times. In the book Seeing Things: Television in the Age of Uncertainty, author John Ellis uses the couple's combustible relationship as an example of emotional intensity and pathos: "A couple like Ricky and Bianca can have constantly sniped at each other for several episodes, for no apparent dramatic purpose except that it is the nature of their relationship. Then they will suddenly be confronted by a life changing decision There is suddenly a shift in emotional intensity for the audience. Every word now counts, and all the previous audience attitudes of irritation or even condescension to this 'not very bright couple' become a feeling of utter absorption in their dilemma." The BBC has reported that Bianca and Ricky's on off romance "captivated millions of fans", and in April 1997 22 million viewers tuned in to see them marry on screen, one of the biggest soap audiences ever. In 2000, Owen stated that the storyline he most enjoyed in EastEnders was the build up and marriage to Bianca, because "the public's enthusiasm for the event was a great motivation". The couple have been described as "iconic". In 1997, the couple were featured in a storyline about spina bifida and hydrocephalus, a developmental birth defect resulting in an incompletely formed spinal cord of the baby. After falling pregnant with Ricky's baby, a pre natal scan revealed that her unborn foetus had the conditions. In the storyline, Bianca and Ricky agonised about whether to have an abortion, but eventually decided to terminate the pregnancy at 20 weeks, following the diagnosis. In scenes shown after the abortion, Bianca and Ricky were given the chance to see and hold their dead daughter, named Natasha, after the birth (Ricky was unable to do this, though Bianca later said her baby had been "perfect"), and a period of heavy grief followed as the characters came to terms with what they had done. The Peterborough based Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH) helped and provided information to the programme makers during the storyline. Despite the birth of a premature but healthy baby, Liam, in an episode that aired on Christmas Day 1998, the following year the couple split following Bianca's affair, Palmer having decided to leave EastEnders.