‘Lucky to be alive’ Paul Nicholls stays in Thailand after dropping off a waterfall

Former EastEnders star Paul Nicholls is recovering in a Thai hospital following a nasty accident.

The soap actor fell down a waterfall in Koh Samui - reportedly while taking a selfie. He broke his leg in the fall and spent an agonising 72 hours trapped in a rock pool with serious injuries and no food or water before being rescued. Medics have said that the 38-year-old Bolton-native would not have survived for much longer in the wilderness.

"It is not known if the actor has travel insurance for his trip to Thailand as his agent today refused to comment," reports DailyMail.com.

Paul is currently not well enough to fly home to the UK, but this his condition is currently being accessed by his doctors.

He had been travelling alone - visiting a remote jungle waterfall on the island of Koh Samui - when he fell.

He was only discovered after a local villager saw his abandoned motorbike.

"When he was found, the star was semi-conscious and suffering from hypothermia as well as a tropical infection picked up from his untreated wounds and a broken leg," adds DailyMail.com.

Speaking of the near-death experience from hospital, Mr Nicholls also told The Sun: "I am lucky to be alive. It took such a long time to find me. It's an understatement to say it wasn't a great situation."

Describing his painful injuries, he explained: "I've got a broken leg and I'm missing a kneecap. It needs complete reconstruction."

Mr Nicholls rose to fame on BBC's EastEnders in the mid-Nineties playing the schizophrenic Joe Wicks.

He has since starred in the likes of Law And Order: UK; Holby City; Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, and Ackley Bridge.