Kevin Wicks

Kevin Wicks
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Phil Daniels
Introduced by	Kate Harwood
Duration	2006–08
First appearance	17 February 2006
Last appearance	1 January 2008
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Date of birth	12 December 1959
Date of death	31 December 2007
Occupation	Car salesman
Family Wife Shirley Carter (1980–89) Denise Fox (2007) Father John Wicks Mother Betty Wicks Sons Jimbo Wicks Adoptive sons Deano Wicks Adoptive daughters Carly Wicks Uncles Brian Wicks Cousins Simon Wicks

Kevin Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Phil Daniels. He made his first appearance on 17 February 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that Phil Daniels had decided not to renew his contract and the character was killed-off in an episode set on New Year's Eve 2007 and broadcast on New Year's Day 2008.

Storylines

Backstory

Kevin married Shirley Carter and had one son with her named Jimbo, who had cystic fibrosis. Shirley had several affairs while married to Kevin and fell pregnant twice; Kevin was not their father. Kevin brought Shirley's children, Carly and Deano, up as his own. However, Shirley found parenting tough; she abandoned Kevin in 1989, leaving him a single parent. Jimbo eventually died from his illness; Shirley failed to return for his funeral and did not contact her surviving children.

2006–08

Kevin followed Deano to Walford in February 2006 and began residing with his aunt-in-law, Pat Evans. Kevin planned to emigrate but got involved in Carly's marital break-up and decided to stay in Walford to support his children, taking over management of the local car lot.

Despite an acrimonious introduction to Denise Fox in May 2006 - she mistook him for Grant Mitchell and wrongly accused him of sleeping with her daughter Chelsea - an attraction developed and they started dating. Denise's temper proved difficult for Kevin to control, but he began to see a more vulnerable side to her, which convinced him that she was worth persevering with. It was on/off romance, Denise ended the relationship several times leaving Kevin to be pursued by Elaine Jarvis. However, Kevin supported Denise through the abuse of her ex-husband Owen Turner, so the couple reunited and moved in together.

In late 2006, the Wickses holidayed in Dorset. Kevin's ex-wife, Shirley, traced them there and tried to reunite with her children, Deano and Carly, until Kevin ordered her to leave them alone. Shirley refused and followed them to Walford in January 2007, and revealed her true identity, which had negative repercussions for everyone. When Kevin tried to make her leave, Shirley threatened to tell her children that Kevin was not their real father. The truth eventually came out and both Carly and Deano shunned Kevin. Deano eventually forgave Kevin for lying, but Carly would not. Devastated, Kevin left Walford, not telling anyone where he was going.

Kevin was missing for several months, it was later confirmed he was alive after bank records showed he cleared his account in Hastings. He went to Dungeness and planned to go to France, but after meeting a man named Jed - who stole his ferry tickets and then died in a road traffic accident - Kevin decided to go home. When Carly once again rejected him, he turned to Shirley for comfort and slept with her. Kevin regretted it and made Shirley promise to keep the tryst secret. Kevin managed to rebuild his relationship with his children and Denise, whom he proposed to. Denise and Kevin's wedding went ahead in April 2007, despite Shirley's attempt to ruin the day - she turned up at the ceremony and told Denise about their recent tryst, only to find Kevin had already told her. Denise decided to marry Kevin anyway, but only after she had kicked him in the groin as punishment.

Kevin had to put up with numerous upsets involving his family, including the imprisonment of Deano and Chelsea, who tried to frame Sean Slater for the assault of Patrick Trueman. Kevin tried to protect them by destroying CCTV footage that showed the real culprit was Craig Dixon. However, Carly copied the tape and gave it to the police. Deano and Chelsea were found guilty of attempting to pervert the cource of justice and imprisoned.

In December 2007, Kevin agreed to sell cars for Phil Mitchell, unaware they were stolen. When he discovered this, he agreed to continue selling them as he wanted money for a new house for his family, and a round the world trip for Deano. Phil later found out from Jack Branning that the cars were dangerous "cut-and-shuts" and told Kevin to get rid of them. However, Denise sold a car to Yolande Trueman, so on New Year's Eve 2007, Kevin tried to steal Yolande's car and destroy it. His plans were jeopardized by Shirley, who threatened to tell the police unless he persuaded Carly to talk to her. Unable to get rid of Shirley, Kevin threw her into the car, planning to take it to a junkyard. However, the car was short on petrol and they were unable to get to their destination, so Kevin and Shirley decided to race the car and then set it alight, making it look like the work of joyriding vandals. While Kevin raced dangerously in the car, Shirley goaded him to go faster; he drove off at speed, but the car bonnet opened and Kevin crashed into wreckage, leaving him impaled by a metal pole. Shirley attempted to keep Kevin alive but failed, and he died moments before New Year 2008. Kevin's body was taken to the morgue, where Denise kissed him at the stroke of midnight, wishing him Happy New Year. Kevin's funeral was held in January 2008, but the hearse broke down and Kevin's friends and family ended up carrying his coffin to the crematorium. Denise revealed in June 2008 that she and Carly had scattered Kevin's ashes in the South China Sea.

Phil was arrested for Kevin's murder in December 2011, but released due to lack of evidence.

External links

• Kevin Wicks at BBC Online