EastEnders has confirmed a reunion for the Trueman family as Anthony (Nicholas Bailey) makes his way back to Walford. But viewers have been wondering if Paul Trueman will also make an appearance, despite being killed off in the BBC soap.

Actor Gary Beadle played Paul in EastEnders between 2001 and 2004. The troublesome character was the eldest son of Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) and was involved in several huge storylines, including his own shocking death.

In 2003, Paul began an affair with local villain Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), and the two planned to steal all of Barry Evans’s (Shaun Williamson) money.

However, Paul attempted to stop the plan on Janine’s wedding day to Barry, confessing he loved her and they didn’t need Barry’s money, but Janine refused. Janine later pushed Barry off a cliff shortly after their nuptials in one of the show’s most iconic death scenes.

The same year, Paul was shocked when he found a baby on his doorstep, which turned out to be his daughter after a one-night stand with a woman called Amy.

Paul named the baby Eleanor after Patrick’s mother, but as Paul adapted to looking after Eleanor, Amy decided she wanted her back, which left Paul heartbroken.

In 2004, Paul started drug dealing for gangster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), which led to his brutal end.

After being arrested, Paul told the police details of the dodgy dealings, leading a furious Andy to order his murder in December 2004.

In order to save his own family from harm, Paul said a tearful goodbye to dad Patrick before leaving in a taxi – the driver of the taxi is a hitman, sent by Andy, and tells the killer to ‘make it quick’.

A month later, when Patrick discovers Paul has been murdered and identifies his body, he swears revenge on Andy and eventually gets his wish when Andy is killed in February 2005 by Johnny Allen (Billy Murray).

Since EastEnders announced Anthony Trueman’s return, soap fans have been left wondering if his on-screen brother Paul will also make an appearance, noting that the character died off-screen.

Taking to Reddit, one person wrote: “Worth pointing out that Paul Trueman died offscreen so he’s another character that could be brought back from the dead in the same way Kathy and Cindy were…Come on Ben Wadey, give us a big Trueman reunion to celebrate Rudolph.”

A second stated: “Yep. He died in a similar way to how Jake Moon was ‘killed’, I think. Killed off-screen by a hired hitman, and didn’t we see Jake on screen with Chrissie Watts a few months ago? There’s hope for Paul then, especially if it was the same inept hitman that later on messed up killing Jake, haha.”

A third chimed in: “The only problem is that Patrick verified the body. But it would be easy to rewrite, e.g., he was very decomposed or was a doppelganger. “Dull. Who cares? Bring Paul back!” demanded another.

What has Gary Beadle been up to since leaving EastEnders?

Since waving goodbye to Walford, Gary, 60, has starred in a long list of other television shows and films and has also appeared on stage.

Between 2017 and 2021, Gary starred as Archdeacon on Grantchester, and in 2024, he portrayed Thick Rick in the popular Netflix series The Gentleman.

Paul has also had minor roles in Midsomer Murders, The Interceptor, Small Axe, Holby City, Death in Paradise, Silent Witness, Doctors, Casualty, and more. Most recently, Gary starred as Victor Amobi in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

In 2020, Gary starred as Abioseh Matoseh in National Theatre Live: Les Blancs and other stage productions.