Soap fans stunned as they spot THIS actor from The Bill in EastEnders

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EastEnders fans were left surprised last night when they saw an unexpected familiar face in Albert Square...

EastEnders viewers did a double take last night when they spied a former star from The Bill!

When Halfway headed off to the doctors to get his wound checked out, some fans clocked that the actor playing medic Dr Cosslett was none other than former Bill star Hywel Simons.

Hywel Simons in EastEnders

Former The Bill star Hywel Simons made a surprise appearance in EastEnders last night

The 49-year-old Welsh actor is better known to fans of the legendary ITV cop series as Sgt. Craig Gilmore.

Craig was something of a landmark character in The Bill as he was the show’s first openly gay officer.

Who can forget The Bill?! Here's Hywel Simons as Sgt. Craig Gilmore, who he played from 1994 to 2003 (Fremantle Media/REX/Shutterstock)

Who can forget The Bill?! Here's Hywel Simons as Sgt. Craig Gilmore, who he played from 1994 to 2003 (Fremantle Media/REX/Shutterstock)

In EastEnders, Dr Cosslett checked over Halfway, remarking dryly: “The good news is your wound appears to have healed nicely, the bad news is you may have to go back to work.”

And EastEnders viewers who loved The Bill back when it was one of the biggest shows on the box, were enjoying seeing Hywel pop up in Albert Square.

Another tweeted: “Welcome Hywel Simons who played Sgt Gilmore in The Bill.”

So, the question now is will Hywel be appearing again soon in the soap?

Besides The Bill, Hywel also enjoyed roles in Doctors, Casualty, Heartbeat and Poldark.

Plus, he also made an appearance in the legendary 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, playing a servant.

EastEnders continues tonight on BBC1 at 8pm.

David Hollingsworth
David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!