Comeback: Actor Jeff Stewart  is to reprise his role as PC Reg Hollis

Actor Jeff Stewart is poised to make a sensational return to The Bill.

The 52-year-old, who played PC Reg Hollis in the police drama for 23 years, slashed his wrists in January after being told that he was being written out of the show.

He is now in talks with ITV bosses to reprise his former role in a special episode.

"We've been in contact with Jeff since he left. He stays in touch with the show," a source told The People.

"Producers have been in talks with him about a possible comeback.

"At first he may appear in a few small cameo roles. But we can't rush it and it has to be right both for the show and for Jeff.

'If the right script comes up, then we might see the return of Reg to our screens."

Stewart - who looked almost unrecogniseable when he was pictured last week - received treatment at The Priory rehab clinic after he slashed his wrists in his dressing room at the ITV studios in Merton, South London shortly after he was told that his £150,000 contract would not be renewed.

Unrecognisable: The actor outside his £1 million home in Kingston Upon Thames with afro-style hair and a scruffy beard

He later admitted: 'It's true I was in a bit of a state. In fact I'd hit rock bottom and was on a medication.

'But there is no way I would ever take my own life and I can't really explain what happened that evening.'