Actor Michael Greco, who played Beppe Di Marco in EastEnders, the popular British soap opera, has signed a sponsorship deal with Littlewoods Poker.

Six years after leaving the BBC1 show, Greco will now represent Littlewoods by gaming online and in live tournaments, including this season’s European Poker Tour.

Players at LittlewoodsPoker.com will also get the chance to regularly test Michael’s online poker skills through the website’s monthly bounty tournaments, where they can claim the £250 ‘bounty’ on his head for knocking him out of the tournament.

Commenting on the signing, Greco said: "There aren’t many great celebrity poker players around and I think some professionals are a bit sceptical of them, so it’s great that I’ve been given the chance to show what I can do.

"Over the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to stay away from the limelight and the celebrity lifestyle that I had when I was in EastEnders. And although I’m still working as an actor I’ve also been concentrating very hard on my poker."