Who is Emmerdale's Nicky? Stars reveal all on new Home Farm nanny

At a recent press event, RadioTimes.com and other media had the chance to meet star Cope for the first time, and find out more about Nicky.

"Nicky's a great character," says Cope. "He's very relatable, likeable, and I'm just having fun with him."

Inevitably, though, viewers may start to wonder if there is more to Nicky. And the actor explains that, as far as he knows, his character is a good guy. But he doesn't rule out a twist further down the line...

"At the moment, he's a lovely person, he kind of fits the bill. He's almost too good to be true," he shares – but on whether Nicky has any dark secrets, Cope says: "We'll have to wait and see!"

Within minutes of meeting, single young mother Gabby feels a spark with Nicky. And it seems this might be reciprocated. "I think straight away, even from the first [nanny] interview there's some sort of connection there," reveals Cope.

"She calls him 'fit' to his face, so I think it's very clear, Gabby's intentions, straight away," laughs co-star Bentham.

Asked for some background on Nicky, Cope does have some intriguing early details for us. "When Nicky was 16 his mam passed away, and he's the oldest of six - and he's basically looked after the kids since they were growing up. So he had a lot of experience with kids, and that's what got him into nannying.

"But I think not everyone was on board in the interview [at Home Farm], because Dawn obviously has a big problem with leaving the kids, so I think she was very particular on the type of person she wanted; she was the hardest to win over."

"Because of Clemmie – Clemmie's had a difficult past," adds Bentham, before Cope explains that his alter ego's brother had struggles of his own, which led Nicky to educate himself in psychology.

And how does Nicky get on with Kim? "Kim's so preoccupied, and her priority is about the business and getting that to run smoothly and well. She's all for me being there, because that takes away the responsibility of the kids so Dawn and [Gabby] can focus on the business," the newcomer explains.

Where have we seen Lewis Cope before?

Asked about his previous work in the industry, Cope says he has featured in a variety of performing roles.

"I've done bits of theatre and bits of TV as well, I did Vera for ITV, I've done Doctors, done some stuff on CBBC as well. I've done West Ends - plays, musicals. I did Billy Elliott when I was a child, and then recently I did Witness for the Prosecution."

Discussing the moment he found out about his new role on Emmerdale, the actor tells us: "I was on set filming a scene for something that's coming out on ITV, Mrs Sidhu Investigates. I was on set and I got the call. I was trying to ring everyone and no one answered so I thought, 'Maybe it's not real!'"

Read more:

• 7 Emmerdale spoilers: Will Chas Dingle's affair be exposed at last?
• Emmerdale casts Waterloo Road star as Cain Dingle's long-lost brother

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Soaps hub.

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