Sheen's character dismissed

The troubled actor was fired from the sitcom and replaced by Ashton Kutcher after feuding with creator Chuck Lorre and bosses have reportedly decided to use the final scenes he shot as bad boy Charlie Harper - which see him and his stalker Rose leaving for the airport to catch a flight to the French capital - to explain his character's absence when the show returns.

Sources close to the production told gossip website TMZ there are no plans to kill Harper off in a plane crash but instead it will be revealed he has decided to relocate to Paris.

After landing a role in the sitcom - where he will work with co-stars Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones - Ashton claimed he felt like he had "won the lottery".

He said: "I've never probably in my 13 years in show business received more phone calls and emails from people congratulating me on this job.

"You'd almost think I won the lottery or something, which I kind of did. I've got the best job in showbusiness, and I am ecstatic about that."