Sid Owen

Sid Owen (born David John Sutton; 12 January 1972) is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, who played Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders (1988–2000, 2002–2004, 2008–2012, 2022–2023). He also appeared in the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing and made a cameo performance in the British cult show How Clean is Your House in 2005. Career Prior to his role in EastEnders, he had a role in the film Revolution in 1985, in which he appeared alongside Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland. In 1988, he was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Ricky Butcher, son of popular character Frank Butcher. His character's relationships with Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) became popular in the 1990s. He appeared regularly on the show until April 2000 when he decided to leave the show and tried his hand at pop music releasing his cover version of Michael Jackson's 1972 song, "We've Got a Good Thing Going" on Mushroom Records. The song reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2000. A follow-up single was recorded but never released. He had earlier released a 1995 Children in Need single with Patsy Palmer, "You Better Believe It". That track reached No. 60 in the UK chart. He returned to EastEnders in 2002, first appearing in a spin-off episode Ricky and Bianca which aired in May 2002 which saw his character reunite with his ex-wife Bianca. He returned to the show as a regular later in the year and was axed in 2004 due to lack of storylines. Returning to television work, Owen appeared on an episode of Lily Savage's Blankety Blank in 2001, and took part in the fifth series of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in 2005, where he carried out the first bushtucker trial with David Dickinson. He finished third in the series. He also took part in a celebrity boxing match with Ben Fogle, for Sport Relief, which Fogle ultimately won. Owen also starred in ITV1's prison drama Bad Girls in 2006, during the shows eighth and final series. His character fell for prisoner Janine Nebeski, played by his ex-EastEnders co-star, Nicola Stapleton. Owen appeared in The Bill on 6 November 2007. On 30 October 2007, it was confirmed that Owen would make his return to EastEnders in 2008. This news came 24 hours after the announcement that Patsy Palmer, his on-screen wife, was also returning to the show. In February 2011 he announced that he was taking a break from the show.