Shortly after leaving, his big break came when he was cast as Steven Beale in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders; he took over the role from Edward Savage, who last appeared in 2002.

[4] At the end of April 2010, Sidwell started working on an online show called Almost, But Not Quite, playing the part of Josh Newell.

In August 2011, he starred in a new musical called The Prodigals alongside X Factor's Lucie Jones, which made its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In 2012, Sidwell made his West End debut in Children of Eden at the Prince of Wales Theatre, starring alongside Gareth Gates and Kerry Ellis.

In June 2012, Sidwell headed up the cast of the brand new production Loserville: The Musical, playing Michael Dork at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, alongside Gates, Lil' Chris and Eliza Bennett.