Paul Coker is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jonny Labey.

[1] Paul arrives in Walford after a holiday in Turkey, angers Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid) when he accidentally knocks over Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) and then flirts with him.

They share a passionate kiss and arrange to meet again, and Paul returns to Albert Square where Les and his grandmother, Pam Coker (Lin Blakley), see him.

[5] Paul is in direct competition with Lola for a permanent role when Dean says he will decide based on a cut-and-colour.

Pam promises to be Paul's model, but, in an attempt to get him to work for Les and his funeral parlour, she gets him to perform the hairdressing on a corpse.

[6] Although Paul is initially beaten to the role by Lola, it is because Pam put Dean off hiring him so he would work for the Cokers.

[13] Paul comforts Les, causing him to lose his job at Blades, and tries to contact Pam, asking her to come back to Walford.

Paul collects Pam from her sister's house and finds Claudette and Les together back at home.

After Pam asks Paul to leave the house for a day so she can sort out her marriage troubles, he returns early and is shocked to find Les dressed in women's clothes.

They get matching tattoos and go for a night out, while Pam is forced to put off telling Paul the truth about Jenny.

Ben returns to Walford, severely injured, and tells his family that he and Paul went clubbing in Soho and on leaving, four men confronted them and they ran, getting split up in the process and accidentally taking each other's jackets.

[39] The character and casting were announced on 16 April 2015, when Labey said: "I am overjoyed to have been given the role of Paul Coker and am thrilled to be joining the show at such a prevalent time as it marks its 30th anniversary.

"[40] Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins said: "Jonny's a sensitive, clever and intuitive actor and has fitted in to his new Walford family with ease.

[42] Labey said Paul is openly gay and called him a "troublemaker" who "causes mischief" but is "loveable" and puts on a "21st century persona".

Labey also revealed that Paul is the kind of person who will start something but give up before finishing, and is someone who likes to gossip.

[44] Treadwell-Collins revealed that Paul would cause trouble for his grandparents "as he uncovers some secrets from the past", and that he "sets one heart in particular racing.

He called Paul a "nana's boy" who would cry to her while putting on a persona with everyone else, revealing that he never had to come out to her as gay.

[38] On 19 April 2016, it was announced that Labey would leave his role after a year, a decision that was made "a while ago", and Paul's last episode would air "in a couple of months" in an "explosive" storyline.

'"[55] Paul is killed off in the episode broadcast on 18 July 2016, which was called a "huge shock twist" by a Daily Telegraph reporter, as viewers were led to believe that Ben had died.

[57] Following Paul's death, Labey stated he was "shocked" when he first heard the details of his exit, but said it was "beautifully written" and had a "great" build up, opining that "It's incredible to have a week dedicated to your character.

[58] Paul's kiss with Ben in his first episode received a mixed reaction from viewers on Twitter, with many people praising the scene, but also a number of homophobic comments calling it "gross" and "cringing", which resulted in a backlash from those championing the couple.

"[61] When asked about the homophobic reaction to Paul and Ben's first kiss, Labey said "No matter what the storyline is, there'll be a backlash.

"[62] Laura Morgan from All About Soap said that Paul had made "quite an impression" in his first episode, having taken "under 30 minutes to single out Ben Mitchell and snog the face off him".

[46] Further scenes of Paul and Ben received complaints, when the couple were seen topless together in a funeral parlour with a corpse in the room.

"[64] Ofcom assessed the complaints and ruled that they did not warrant an investigation, with a spokesperson saying, "We found the scenes were justified in the context of a long-running plotline and sexual contact between the characters was implied rather than overt.

"[65] Following Paul's death, Alice Wright from the Metro listed 12 reasons he would be missed from EastEnders, including that he was "a warm and positive, openly gay character" who was "the only one who's been able to turn the barely stable and terribly moody Ben Mitchell into a happy little bunny full of smiles and plans for the future", he was "a much needed bit of eye candy", "adventurous and cheeky" and "always managed to add some light relief to his scenes", and that the "naked funeral parlour romp" was "TV history".