Matt Di Angelo, who became a household name as Dean "Deano" Wicks on BBC soap EastEnders, has described prolonged anxiety, spells on medication and a four‑year dry spell of work that left him relying on renovating properties to pay the bills.
The 38‑year‑old spoke about the toll of sudden fame, insecurity of acting work and his mental‑health struggles on the They All Need Therapy podcast, saying the cycle of high pay followed by long gaps of unemployment has been a constant source of stress. "I get super stressed and super anxious," he said. "I don't regret going into the business, but I am envious of people who get up and work and get a pay check at the end of the month, because they have job security."
Di Angelo traced his career from early training at the Sylvia Young Theatre School to his breakout on EastEnders at 18, and later appearances on shows including Hustle and a 2007 run on Strictly Come Dancing, where he finished second with partner Flavia Cacace. He said the sudden ascent brought financial temptations and pressures he felt ill‑prepared for. "It's a dangerous industry, if you're 18 and you go from nothing to loads of money," he said, recounting buying a Porsche on a credit card and losing it in a crash months later.
He described a period during which he could not leave the house without taking diazepam because of a phobia of needing to defecate in public or vomiting while in view of others. He said he also spent time on antidepressants. "There was a period of my life where I wouldn't leave the house without diazepam," he told the podcast. "I had a phobia of defecating, of being on stage or in public and feeling like, 'I need to take a sh**.'"
Di Angelo said the emotional volatility of acting work intensified after his exit from EastEnders and during years when roles were scarce. He contrasted the steady reassurance of working on Hustle, which he described as feeling "like a family," with spells where "bam, nothing" followed a high‑profile job. The peaks and troughs left him feeling "completely isolated" from an industry he said did not appear to care about him.
He and his wife, wedding planner Sophia Perry, married in 2021 at the Dorchester Hotel and have three‑year‑old twins, Daphne and Raphael, born in 2022. Fatherhood prompted Di Angelo to reconsider offers that would take him away from his children for months at a time. He said recently turning down or hesitating over stage work was partly driven by not wanting to be separated from his family.
Faced with the unpredictability of acting, Di Angelo said he began renovating properties as a side business and found satisfaction in tangible, manual work. "When I've renovated a house and I filled up the skip and I've plastered, there's a satisfaction that I get from doing a day's manual labour that I don't get from doing an episode of a TV show because I've got something to show for it," he said.
Di Angelo returned to EastEnders in October 2023 as Dean Wicks, reappearing as a business partner to the Beale family, and his character was written out again after a courtroom storyline in September 2024. Show executives have suggested the character could return in the future. Di Angelo said that, regardless of further acting opportunities, he values the stability and visible results of his renovation work.
His comments add to a broader conversation about mental health and financial insecurity in performing arts professions, where intermittent employment and sudden public exposure are common. Di Angelo's account underscores how some actors combine creative work with alternative income streams and how family considerations can reshape career choices.
He continues to balance acting opportunities with property projects and family life, and has spoken publicly about the importance of managing finances and mental‑health care amid the uncertainties of show business.