Former EastEnders heartthrob Paul Nicholls will be returning to our screens this year after landing a role in a new BBC drama.
Soap fans fell in love with the young actor in the 90s after he shot to fame as schizophrenic Joe Wicks.
While Paul, now 44, was a firm fan favourite in the soap, he spent just one year on Albert Square - leaving the show 27 years ago in 1997.
He will now appear in a new high school BBC drama Phoenix Rise, playing the dad to one of the children.
During his time out of the limelight, Paul has been honest about his struggles with alcohol and drugs.
He suffered a huge set back after a freak accident in Thailand.
Paul rushed to hospital with broken legs and a shattered knee, and the following year he suffered a stroke which caused him to spiral into a deep depression.
The depression led to his addiction to cocaine and dihydrocodeine throughout 2020, but fortunately he started attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings and is now in recovery.
Back in 2017 Paul hit the headlines when he fell from a waterfall in Ko Samui and was left stranded for three days before being rescued.
He spent a staggering 72 HOURS trapped in a rock pool with his injuries after he plummeted from the top of a jungle waterfall.
It was reported the actor had been trying to take a selfie at the time, but tripped and fell the entire length of the waterfall.
His ordeal only ended thanks to an eagle-eyed local who raised the alarm - prompting a search - when they spotted his motorbike abandoned at the beauty spot on the island of Koh Samui.
Paul spent three days in agony at the foot of the Khun Si falls, in a jungle infested with snakes, mosquitoes, spiders and leeches.
Speaking to the Sun, the actor said: “I am lucky to be alive. I had a phone with me but I fell from such a height into the water it was unretrievable.
“It took such a long time to find me. It’s an understatement to say it wasn’t a great situation. It wasn’t that I was lost.
“The problem was I couldn’t move to get out of there. I’ve got a broken leg and I’m missing a kneecap. It needs complete reconstruction.”
After making a remarkable recover, Paul is now filming for a new role in BBC Three children's drama Phoenix Rise.
He plays Carl, the dad of 15-year-old Billy and 11-year-old Rihanna who attend a school for excluded kids in the West Midlands.
The TV series first premiered back in March, but it's been confirmed that a second series will be aired later this year, with a third and fourth series already commissioned by the BBC.
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