EastEnders star Paul Nicholls unrecognisable in new BBC role

Former EastEnders star Paul Nicholls looks a million miles away from his Albert Square days in his new BBC role.

The 44-year-old is unrecognisable playing a dad of two in the children’s drama Phoenix Rise.

The new role sees him play Carl who is the father of 15-year-old Billy and 11-year-old Rihanna, two children who attend a school for the excluded.

The Bolton born actor became a teen heartthrob when he landed the role of troubled Joe Wicks in the BBC Soap in 1996.

His curtains hair style, which have now been replaced by a more mature haircut, and brooding good looks instantly made him a hit with fans and he was twice voted TV’s sexiest actor and graced the covers of all the top teen magazines.

However, he only lasted a year on the show as he struggled with alcohol and drug addiction.

He bravely went public with his addiction issues in 2008 telling the Daily Mail: “People said I had too much too soon when I was playing Joe Wicks – and maybe they were right.

“I didn’t want to be a heartthrob and I could not handle the attention,” he admitted.

Despite his issues he went on to work steadily after leaving the soap appearing in shows such as Law and Order: UK, The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, Grantchester, Death in Paradise and the first two series of Ackley Bridge.

He also made an impact on Hollywood when he was cast as bad boy drug smuggler Jed in Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason in 2004.

In 2017 he suffered a near fatal accident while on holiday in Thailand when he spent three days trapped at the bottom of a waterfall after falling down it.

When help eventually came he was found to have two broken legs and 37 different infections including malaria, cholera and dengue fever and had to spend six months alone in hospital.

Paul later discovered that these infections, had remained in his blood, and led to him having a stroke.

“The right side of my body was paralysed. I knew it was a stroke,” he told The Sun at the time.

“I did my physio. I went through the motions of life but I was in bed most of the time. The whole of 2019 was basically a write-off,” he said.

He admitted that this led him into a deep depression which in turn caused him to turn to drugs once again.

But he managed to kick the habit once more and has been managed to stay clean since joining Narcotics Anonymous and going to regular meetings.

He said that he still has the fear he could relapse again, but his goal was to get to a year clean and work again, which he has now done.

Pheonix Rise is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.