A former EastEnders legend looked completely unrecognisable from his soap heyday as he was spotted out and about this week.

Nick Berry was pictured with a thick grey beard as he walked down an Essex high street.

The actor, 61, is best known to millions for his role as Walford heartthrob Simon Wicks.

Simon arrived in EastEnders way back in 1985, eight months after the soap had first launched on the BBC.

Quickly becoming known as ‘Wicksy’, Simon’s most memorable storyline came as he embarked on a steamy affair with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).

When the truth came out, it sparked a subsequent feud with his step-brother and Cindy’s husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).

Cindy would of course go on to have another famous affair with Wicksy’s half-brother David (Michael French).

Nick eventually left the cast of EastEnders after five years on the Square in 1990.

Nick briefly reprised the role for a one-off cameo in 2012, following the funeral of his on-screen mum Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement).

Away from Walford, Nick is also known for his starring role in classic police drama Heartbeart.

Set in the 1950s, Nick played lead copper PC Nick Rowan in the ITV show from 1992 to 1998.

After his last starring role in BBC detective series In Deep from 2001 to 2003, Nick stepped away from the limelight.

Speaking in 2011, Nick told the Daily Mail that he decided to be a ‘stay-at-home dad’, which he ‘loved.’

‘I always said that when the boys were teenagers I could go back, but the longer you don’t do something the harder it is to do it, and I haven’t really missed it,’ he told the publication at the time.