He was lucky to escape with his life after plummeting the depths of a Thai waterfall in the summer.
And Paul Nicholls revealed the terrifying extent of his horror fall during his appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Loose Women.
The former EastEnders star, 38, hit headlines in July when he was found with severe injuries at the bottom of a waterfall in Koh Samui – three days after he left his accommodation to go for a ride on his scooter.
Opening up: Paul Nicholls revealed the terrifying extent of his horror fall in Thailand during his appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Loose Women
Explaining the severity of the incident, he divulged: ‘I had been working for a year and a half solidly – for an actor that’s quite a lot – I thought, “I’m going to take nine months off”.
‘I was having a great time and then that happened.’
Paul was originally believed to have fallen after attempting to snap a selfie from above the waterfall, though the reality was a lot more sinister.
He explained: ‘I was on a scooter, no one knew where I was. My friend said, “You should always tell someone where you’re going!”
Lucky to be alive: The former EastEnders star, 38, hit headlines in July when he was found with severe injuries at the bottom of a waterfall in Koh Samui – three days after he left his accommodation to go for a ride on his scooter
‘It was 6.30am, I’d be in the gym already. I lived halfway up the mountain, I went to the top to take pictures.
‘I came around the corner, there were about 15 wild dogs. One pack had made a kill and the blood attracted the rest of them.
‘The nearer I got to the waterfall, one of them chomped on top of my foot. It drew blood and then he ran off with my flip flop.’
He added: ‘I pulled into the waterfall and thought the only way I can go is down but I didn’t realise how much I was bleeding.
Shocking: Paul was originally believed to have fallen after attempting to snap a selfie from above the waterfall, though the reality was a lot more sinister
‘I was screaming for help’: The actor revealed he was attacked by wild dogs ahead of the fall, and spent ‘days battling leeches’
‘As soon as I touched the rock, I just went over. It was a 20 ft drop and my knee hit something on the way down.
‘It looked like something just flew out of my knee – part of my knee cap – and then I hit the water. Where my knee cap should have been, there was just a hole and I was holding it.
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.
He confessed: ‘These crabs came out, then the leeches were coming out of everywhere – I wasn’t hallucinating.’
‘I spent all day battling away the leeches, screaming for help.’
Terrifying: 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
Emergency crews found the actor after a three-day search of the wilderness when the alarm was raised after he failed to return a rented bike.
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.
Speaking of the near-death experience to from hospital, Nicholls told The Sun that he had not been lost, but his phone had stopped working after it plunged into the water – making him unable to tell anyone of his whereabouts.
He admitted: ‘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.’
Detailing more of his injuries, which left him in unbearable pain, he explained: ‘I’ve got a broken leg and I’m missing a kneecap. It needs complete reconstruction.’
Ouch! Paul severely damaged his knee after banging it while plummeting down the 20 ft waterfall