What has Paul Nicholls been doing ahead of EastEnders return? From acting alongside Renee Zellwegger to surviving a near-fatal accident

Paul Nicholls shocked fans of EastEnders when he made a surprise return to Albert Sqaure on Thursday's episode. Paul Nicholls shocked fans of EastEnders when he made a surprise return to Albert Sqaure on Thursday's episode The actor, 45, reprised his nineties role as Joe Wicks after nearly 27 years away from the soap After he left the soap, Paul had a regular role in the police procedural drama City Central the following year. The soap actor originally appeared on the BBC show from 1996 to 1997, appearing in 177 episodes After he left the soap, Paul had a regular role in the police procedural drama City Central the following year He explained: 'I was on a scooter, no one knew where I was. Perhaps his most noteable role since EastEnders was when he portrayed Jed in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004 Away from his career, Paul was lucky to escape with his life after plummeting the depths of a Thai waterfall in the summer of 2017 And the actor's distress was only exacerbated when the waterfall setting began to resemble somewhat of a horror scene as legions of leeches and crabs appeared from no where.