Paul Nicholls is recovering in a hospital in Thailand after a horrific accident left him trapped for three days with a broken leg. The former EastEnders star, who played Joe Wicks in the BBC show, plunged down a waterfall and was trapped in a rock pool without food or assistance. He had travelled on his own to the remote beauty spot on the island of Koh Samui, and the alarm was only raised when a local spotted his motorbike and alerted the police. After searching for hours, rescuers eventually found the actor, who was at the foot of Khun Si falls.
Paul Nicholls is 'lucky to be alive' after his ordeal in Thailand
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At the time, Paul was semi-conscious and had hypothermia from his prolonged time in the water. He hadn't eaten for three days, and had also contracted a bug during his ordeal. "I am lucky to be alive," the TV star told the Sun. "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." He added: "I've got a broken leg and I'm missing a kneecap. It needs complete reconstruction."
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A source told the newspaper that 38-year-old Paul had flown to Thailand a week ago because he is currently "between filming". The insider added: "He needs surgery. But it’s going to cost £90,000 for him to have it in Thailand. The British Embassy want to fly him back. They need to fly him to the mainland first to a proper hospital and then decide whether to bring him back to the UK or do the surgery there."