A BEMUSED Bolton man is being bombarded with fan mail and adoring phone calls from teenage girls who think he is EastEnders pin-up Joe Wicks.

Paul Greenhalgh (aged 37 and at least 17 stone, according to his wife Linda) is being targeted by hordes of teenagers.

They mistakenly believe he is Bolton-born actor Paul Nicholls who has shot to fame in the BBC soap opera.

Seventeen-year-old Paul from Smithills was born Paul Greenhalgh but has changed his surname on the advice of actors' union Equity.

Young Paul has rapidly reached celebrity status and become one of the most popular pin-ups in teenage girls magazines.

And fans desperate to track him down have grabbed the other Paul's Belmont Road, Astley Bridge, address and phone number out of the phone book, believing they have found a direct route to their screen heart-throb.

Paul's wife Linda said: "We think its really funny. There have been letters from Cumbria and Surrey and phone calls from all over the place.

"When I answer they usually giggle a bit and then put the phone down. I asked one how they'd got the number and they said a friend had given it to them."

She added: "One of the letters was saying they hoped the rumours about him going out with the actress who plays Tiffany weren't true. But my Paul said: 'I wish it was true she was going out with me!'"

Linda added: "We want to make it clear there's definitely no EastEnders star living at this house!"

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