Monday, 25 September 2006

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Dean Gaffney: 'I'm skint'

Ex-EastEnder admits blowing £1million

Former EastEnder's star Dean Gaffney is officially skint.

The actor, who played road sweeper Robbie Jackson in the soap, says he's blown the £1million he made from the show and is now just weeks away from having to sell his £800,000 Surrey home.

And he's even made a trip to the dole office to see what benefits he's entitled too.

He told the News Of The World: 'I went to the dole office to see what I could claim. It was very embarassing when I walked in and all the staff recognised me.

'I was told I could claim the £57 Jobseeker's allowance. But I turned it down. That wouldn't even pay for my shampoo and hair gel.'

Dean made £100,000 a year when he was in the soap but was written out of it three years ago.

Since then he's relied on panto appearances and repeat fees to fund his lifestyle and bitterly regrets his lavish lifestyle.

He said: 'I'd spend £1,000 on a suit, £120 on a Prada shirt and £400 on a pair of designer jeans.

'The EastEnders bosses told me I was mixing with bad company and warned me to change. But I was so young, cocky and naive that I didn't listen to them.'

He added: 'EastEnders gave me a great lifestyle for 12 years when I didn't have to worry about bailiffs coming to the door. I even spent £10,000 on a holiday to Dubai. Now I've only got enough to last me another couple of months.'