father, Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn), about their parenting methods, but they call a truce. He becomes Scarlett's godfather at her baptism, along with Whitney as her godmother, before leaving with the children again. In August 2015, off-screen, he agrees to let Liam and his girlfriend Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) live with him in Germany. He advises Liam against taking money from the Beales and offers to train him to become a mechanic. When Janine returns in September 2021, she reveals that Ricky could not cope with COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, causing him to suffer a nervous breakdown. In March 2022, Tiffany joins Ricky in Germany with her husband Keegan Butcher-Baker (Zack Morris). It is revealed that despite Ricky living in Germany for years, he does not speak the language. 2022–2023 Ricky returns to Walford in December 2022 when Bianca's half-sister Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) calls him after becoming concerned about Janine's mental state. He is later reunited with Sam (played by Kim Medcalf again). He bonds with Janine's fiancé Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and reassures Janine that Mick loves her after she suspects that Mick is having an affair with his ex-wife, Linda (Kellie Bright). Ricky redevelops feelings for Sam but she is not interested in another romance this time. Mick persuades her to give Ricky a chance and they go on a date. Ricky then asks Sam to be his plus-one at Mick and Janine's wedding, to which she agrees. On Christmas Day 2022, Janine is exposed for blackmailing Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith) into planting empty wine bottles around Linda's house and subsequently leading to her temporarily lose custody of her infant daughter Annie, with Scarlett (now played by Tabitha Byron) also revealing that Janine had previously framed Linda for drink-driving. Janine flees Walford when Linda threatens to call the police, abandoning Scarlett with Ricky and Sonia. She later returns after a car chase leads to Janine and Linda crashing into the sea, and Mick being presumed dead after rescuing them. Janine tries to manipulate Scarlett into retracting her statement about the earlier car accident with Linda. Disgusted by Janine's actions, Ricky calls the police himself, leading to her arrest. Ricky and Sam go on another date on New Year's Eve. Ricky asks Sam to move to Germany with him once he secures sole custody of Scarlett, but she does not respond immediately. Sam later abandons Ricky when