List of Doctors characters introduced in 2016

Paul Cuthbert, portrayed by Andy Moss, first appeared on 14 April 2016 and made his final appearance on 10 June 2016. Paul was introduced as the boyfriend of heavily pregnant Rhiannon Davies (Lucy-Jo Hudson). After it transpires that Rhiannon's firstborn child was taken by social services due to neglect, Paul accompanies Rhiannon to a hearing called to debate whether or not she can care for the unborn child. The consensus is that she can, and days later, she gives birth to a boy, Nicholas. Weeks later, his death is reported, and Paul refuses to take accountability for his death, and negates any claims of child abuse from him or Rhiannon. He is later told by Rob Hollins (Chris Walker) that Rhiannon is responsible for Nicholas' death after violently shaking him, and he is let go by the police.

Moss was travelling in India when producers of the soap devised a storyline for him; they asked to meet him a day after he landed back in the United Kingdom. Since he had done an episode of ''Doctors'' years ago, he initially assumed that he would not be interested in another guest stint. However, they explained that the stint as Paul would be longer, sent him some provisional scripts and told him that he would be working alongside Hudson. He met with them again a day later, where he was cast in the role. The casting of both Moss and Hudson was announced on 2 April 2016, with Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly writing that they would be part of a big storyline. Kilkelly noted that despite guest stars on ''Doctors'' usually appearing for one or two episodes, their story arc would be covered across several months. Producers also confirmed that their story "will take some dark turns".

Moss said that when viewers are introduced to Paul, "he seems like a lovely nice guy". Explaining his backstory, Moss said: "He's had quite a steady relationship with his girlfriend Rhiannon over the past year or so. Paul has been supporting her quite a lot, because she does have quite a past. They've come out the other side from that now and they're expecting their first child together. So it's a joyous story at first - but then it takes a very dark turn..." The actor said that neither he nor Hudson knew the outcome of the storyline. He explained that producers wanted his character to seem "happy-go-lucky" in his earlier scenes, while also having a "glint in his eye which hinted that something wasn't quite right". Moss also recalled that when himself and Hudson would read new scripts, their "jaws would hit the floor" in shock, adding that they "couldn't have even imagined" the culmination of events in their final episodes. Neither of the actors were given their final scripts until shortly before filming the scenes, which Hudson felt aided them. She said they "would have played it slightly different"; Moss echoed her statement, adding that it made the scenes feel "real". Provided by Wikipedia