An Essex-born actor has thanked his fans for their kind words after travelling to Istanbul for a hair transplant.

Lee Mead, had his famous curls shaved off ahead of the hair transplant, and shared the look on Twitter with the playful caption: “Hair today gone tomorrow.”

Mead, 41, played Ben 'Lofty' Chiltern in Holby City from 2016 to 2019.

The character had originally appeared in sister drama Casualty for two years.

He shot to stardom by bagging the lead role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat after winning the Any Dream Will Do talent show in 2007.

Lee had revealed to fans on social media that he was jetting off to Istanbul to get the hair transplant yesterday (January 19).

And fans sent messages of support to the star as he admitted he was "nervous" to have it.

One person wrote: "Definitely a new look for you - but you're rockin' it! Hope all's going well."

After sharing the video, he tweeted: "Thank you for all the kind words regarding my hair transplant. Was very nervous about having it done but so pleased that I have.

"As I said before in my previous videos, absolutely nothing wrong with being bald at all. It’s just a personal choice for each individual."