Former EastEnders star Ricky Groves has revealed he is selling a series of personal items, props, and movie memorabilia to raise cash. The actor, who played Gary Hobbs for nine years before his departure in 2009, has recently auctioned off his Queen Vic sign and Strictly Come Dancing shoes, along with several other collectibles accumulated over the years.
Queen Vic Sign and Other EastEnders Props
Ricky took a Queen Vic outdoor sign he salvaged after the pub burned down to Ryedale Auctioneers in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, where it fetched £200 for the BBC prop. Additionally, he sold a neon sign for Laura's cafe and a laminated opening times sign for £440.
Strictly Come Dancing Memorabilia
The actor also sold his Strictly dance shoes from Series 7 of the BBC competition, along with his Strictly lanyard and a signed framed photo of all contestants with their dance partners, for £42.
Bizarre Items and Other Sales
Among the most unusual items was a pair of Union Jack shorts signed by Olympians Steve Cram and Sally Gunnell, which sold for £50. He also sold a collection of empty Jean Paul Gaultier perfume bottles for £28. A Mercedes Benz hood ornament from the car driven down the railway line in Octopussy, accompanied by a personalised letter from James Bond stunt driver Clive Noy, fetched £190.
Other items included fly fishing rods, chairs, a TV entertainment system (£800), glassware, a bread bin, a Copeland Spode Wicker Dale tea set, a wicker basket, German WW1 swords, a Paddington Bear set, and his coin collection, which included a Jack Nicklaus Scottish £5 banknote.
Ricky Groves' Career and Personal Life
Ricky first joined EastEnders as part of the Slater family, with his character married to Lynn (Elaine Lordan) before embarking on numerous flings, culminating in an unlikely romance with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon). He later appeared on Celebrity Coach Trip and Strictly Come Dancing, and made a surprise one-off return to EastEnders in February 2025.
Ricky split from his wife and co-star Hannah Waterman, who played Laura Beale, in 2009 after she revealed an affair with now-husband Huw Higginson. The couple had a son and moved to Australia, where they married and Hannah appeared in rival soap Home and Away. Hannah, who lost two-and-a-half stone through a fitness regime featured on a DVD, was still married to Ricky at the time, and he blamed her exercise DVD for the breakup.
She spoke highly of Huw, saying: 'Huw is lovely in real life. When there's only two of you (on stage), you have to absolutely trust each other … he is a rock.' She left Ricky on New Year's Eve 2009, and Huw moved into her Essex home in June 2010 after issues in his own marriage to Geraldine Dove-Higginson, with whom he has a daughter. Huw, known for playing George Garfield in The Bill, co-starred with Waterman in plays Rattle Of A Single Man and Killing Time in 2009.
