Former EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls has revealed that he once feared he would die from his drug addiction. The 42-year-old, who played schizophrenic Joe Wicks on the soap, described pressing the 'f*** it button' during a four-day drug binge last year after a relapse.
Nicholls told The Sun that he combined a cocktail of substances, including dihydrocodeine and cocaine, and ended up in unfamiliar flats with strangers. He said: 'The rabbit hole I went down led to places that I never thought I'd end up in... I stopped caring, I pressed the 'f*** it' button. The last time I ended up in a flat with people smoking stuff... I thought, 'If I don't stop, I will die'.'
The actor's troubles began in 2017 when he suffered a near-fatal accident in Thailand, trapped at the base of a waterfall for three days. He battled 37 infections, including malaria and cholera, and was hospitalised for six months. The following year, he had a stroke that left him paralysed on one side, triggering deep depression and further relapses.
Nicholls is now attending Narcotics Anonymous and has found hope in the programme. He lives with former dancer Hemma Kathrecha and her two-year-old son, and his only remaining vice is smoking, which he tries to replace with vaping. He has expressed openness to returning to EastEnders and getting back into work.
