EastEnders star sports new look in BBC role following alcohol and drug addiction

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Former Eastenders actor Paul Nicholls has had a shock transformation - looking years away from his character at Albert Square - after he landed a new role on a BBC children's drama.Rising to fame as schizophrenic Joe Wicks on the long-running soap, Paul's stint on the show came to a halt after one year due to his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.The star was best known for his trademark curtains hairdo and blonde tips.Now, at the age of 44 he he has opted for a short, darker look.Paul has returned to BBC for his new role as dad, Carl in children's show Phoenix Rise.He plays the father of 15-year-old Billy and 11-year-old Rihanna who attend a school for the excluded.Following his exit from EastEnders in 1997, Paul has had an array of roles in TV and film, including starring opposite Hollywood great Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.The dad-of-three has been transparent about his issues with alcohol and drug addiction, something he claimed was exacerbated when he had a near-fatal accident in Thailand in 2017.He suffered and severely injured leg when he was trapped at the base of a waterfall after falling from the Thai jungle, which according to reports, took three days to rescue him.According to Paul, he battled a staggering 37 different infections including malaria, cholera and dengue fever.He also revealed that he was left in hospital on his own in Samiu for six months on intravenous antibiotics before returning to Manchester.He then suffered a stroke the following year which nearly killed him.After initially being paralysed on the right side of his body, physiotherapy helped him regain movement.However, he believes the treatment triggered "deep depression" and saw his relapse in 2020 with a