Frankie Fitzgerald: Last News

EastEnders star Frankie Fitzgerald is utterly unrecognisable over 20 years on from first appearing on our telly screens in the BBC soap.The 37-year-old actor portrayed Ashley Cotton on the BBC One soap, who was best known as the son of Walford lout Nasty Nick Cotton (John Altman).Frankie joined the soap as Ashley in 2000, with the character previously portrayed by actor Rossi Higgins.The half-brother of Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) turned up on Albert Square as a wild teenager and boarded with his father and Dot Cotton (June Brown), though it wasn't long before he ran into trouble.Following in his father's footsteps and under his tutelage, Ashley soon started taking drugs.He also carried out robberies with his villainous dad but Ashley's shenanigans came to a head one fateful evening in 2001.In an episode which was broadcast in June that year, the troubled youngster stole his dad Nick's enemy Mark Fowler's motorbike after having an argument with him in the Queen Vic.What the 17-year-old wasn't aware of at the time was that Nick had tampered with the brakes on Mark's bike in an attempt to kill Mark.As a result, Ashley crashed Mark's bike into the launderette and was instantly killed.Following his EastEnders death, Frankie landed a role in Sky One football drama Dream Team and today, he remains a successful working actor.His acting credits involve appearances on other BBC One soaps Holby City and Casualty and over recent years, Frankie has established a career in film.One of his major roles has been in kids' series Harry and Cosh.In 2015, the actor appeared as Jack Dickson alongside Tom Hardy in Legend and in 2019, he starred alongside Dev Patel and Tilda Swinton in The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Ever since Netflix‘s Dahmer docuseries hit the streaming platform, idolization of serial killers has been a huge topic on social media. It’s something that’s been around for as long as killers have existed — for whatever reason people feel drawn to these murderers and some even go as far as dating or marrying their chosen slayer. What happens when this admiration goes too far? Well, there are some serious consequences…

A woman who is obsessed with serial killers has been found guilty of murdering of her on-off boyfriend who she stabbed to death after using tips from true crime documentaries to plan her alibi. Shaye Groves, 27, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court of slitting the throat of Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, before stabbing him 17 times in the chest in July last year after trying to portray herself as his victim.

EastEnders favourites have often changed their appearance after leaving the soap and moving on to other avenues in their careers, but some notable stars have had complete transformations. From the abusive Trevor Morgan, played by Alex Ferns, to Danny Dyer's evil Aunt Babe, played by Annette Badland some actors are unrecognisable from their days working on Albert Square. Fans will also remember Bradley Branning actor Charlie Clements became a fan-favourite on the BBC soap, but soon after his character's dramatic death the star opted to leave fame behind altogether.

EASTENDERS' star Frankie Fitzgerald is unrecognisable 18 years after playing Nasty Nick Cotton's son Ashley. He appeared as a tearaway teen in the BBC One soap alongside actor John Altman (Nasty Nick) and was a chip off the old block.