Who was Fatboy in EastEnders and what happened to him?

During last night's instalment of the BBC One soap, the former villainess portrayed by Michelle Collins rocked up Albert Square and confronted her mother-in-law Kathy Beale.

However, many viewers are ahead as they discovered tonight's (August 29, 2023) episode ahead of time during which George Knight finally learns the truth about his beloved estranged wife Rose.

The instalment of the London-based program featured flashback scenes of Cindy's life in Marbella with George and their two daughters, Gina and Anna.

But in a surprising twist, Cindy wasn't the only character to return from the dead as she was seen alongside Arthur, more commonly known in Albert Square as Fatboy.

Portrayed by Ricky Norwood, Fatboy was the ex-husband of Mercy Chubb and the son of Ashley Chubb.

He made his EastEnders debut in January, 2010, when he was invited to a party hosted by Cindy's late daughter Lucy Beale.

In the flashback scene, dating from April, 2014, Cindy secretly returned to Walford after finding out about Lucy's untimely death while in Spain.

Cindy was unable to reveal she was back in the Square due to being embroiled in the witness protection scheme but was caught up before she could be found out.

Locked in a car with the agent in charge of her case, the pair of women were interrupted by Fatboy who asked them for the time before heading off to a pool competition in The Vic.

But while Cindy played dead for 25 years, Fatboy isn't as lucky as he met a tragic fate a year after his encounter with the blonde bombshell.

What happened to Fatboy in EastEnders?

Fatboy was the life of Lucy Beale's party upon his first appearance and became involved in plenty of dramatic storylines during his stint in the fictional borough of Walford.

After falling for Mercy Olubunmi and marrying her to help her stay in the country in the EastEnders: E20 spin-off, Fatboy developed feelings for his friend Whitney Dean, despite her involvement with Tyler Moon.

Whitney and Fatboy's relationship was short-lived, however, as she didn't share his romantic feelings for her.

He then went on to have a brief fling with Denise Fox before embarking on another relationship with Poppy Meadow.

While his love life in Albert Square was nothing short of chaotic, he was also an important source of support for Dot Cotton following the death of her son Nick.

But in 2015, his life took a turn when he became involved in a deadly feud.

After troubled beginnings, Fatboy bonded with Vincent Hubbard who convinced him to drop his pseudonym and use his real name "Arthur" again.

The beloved character was then given a job as a DJ in The Albert by Vincent but, unfortunately, this friendship turned sour in a matter of weeks as Fatboy was embroiled in his boss' vendetta with Phil Mitchell.

Fatboy desperately tried to convince Vincent to put an end to the feud only to be threatened with violence against Dot if he didn't leave Walford.

Devastated, Fatboy agreed to flee, sharing one last Christmas meal with Dot Cotton and confronting Vincent one final time.

Unfortunately, he never made it out of the Square as he was killed by Ronnie Mitchell's hitmen on Christmas Day 2015.

Ronnie had originally made plans to kill Vincent by having him crushed in a car.

Sadly, Vincent found out himself the plot hadn't gone as expected as he discovered Fatboy's dead body himself in the boot of the car.

Fans couldn't help but spot an ironic tone to Fatboy's death as the character was known to be terrified of enclosed spaces.

It was later revealed that Vincent's mother Claudette Hubbard knew all along that he would be killed off had he been driving the car and sent Fatboy instead to save him.

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.