EastEnders villain Paul Nicholas found out he was being killed off by reading about it in the Daily Star Sunday.
Last spring, show bosses decided his character Gavin Sullivan would die off screen five years after leaving Albert Square — but they didn’t tell him.
Paul, 77, only realised what was happening when we printed snaps of the funeral scenes being filmed.
He told us: “When you’re on EastEnders, they don’t tell you stuff. In 2016 they didn’t tell me I’d be leaving and then I suddenly read in the script that Gavin was being taken off by police and he was gone.
(Image: We Love TV)
“Then last year they didn’t tell me they were killing him off. I found out when I saw in the paper that he had died and there had been a funeral service for him.
“So I found out what was happening because of the Daily Star Sunday. You just find these things out like that sometimes. It’s kind of fun, in a way.”
Our exclusive photos of the funeral last February showed Gavin’s daughter Sharon Watts throwing his ashes in a bin because she hated him so much.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Paul was thrilled his character was getting such a dramatic send-off.
He said: “I did rather like the idea of Sharon discarding me into a rubbish bin. I think that’s clever writing. It was fantastic.
“I was pleased they bothered to have a funeral for Gavin. It was nice to know what happened to him in the end.”
Even though his character has been killed off, Paul is still keen to make a comeback on the BBC soap.
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes)
In the past viewers were told characters including Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) had died — but they both made comebacks.
Paul said: “Gavin can always come back at some point when the writers get round to me.
“I would love to go back. I could just come in for one line. I don’t even have to be seen. That’s my scenario. Maybe the writers don’t have the same scenario in mind.”
Paul tells all about his stint on EastEnders in new autobiography Music, Marigolds and Me.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
