Nicola Rubinstein

Nicola Rubinstein is the long-lost daughter of Pat Phelan.

Biography
Nicola was first seen as the caseworker of Seb Franklin after he was arrested and imprisoned in a Young Offenders' Institute for attacking Jackson Hodge, the ex-boyfriend of Faye Windass.

In June 2017, as it came close to Seb's release date, Nicola went to 11 Coronation Street to try to persuade Pat Phelan to take Seb on as an apprentice to keep him occupied and out of trouble. During the meeting, Phelan noticed similarities between Nicola and Annabel Rubinstein, a woman that he had an affair with in 1989.

When Phelan arrived at work with a black eye, Seb mocked him and joked that he was only wearing a tie for Nicola. Phelan reacted badly and grabbed Seb against the wall. Nicola saw Phelan's reaction and reminded him that he must be more patient with a troubled and damaged lad like Seb.

Phelan took Seb and Nicola out for a day in his hometown, Liverpool. During the day, Phelan told the pair about his relationship with his parents and that he had met the love of his life whilst working in Toxteth. Phelan made Nicola feel uncomfortable during the visit by remarking that she reminded him of his former love.

Intrigued by her similarity to Annabel, Phelan asked Nicola about her parents but she offered little information about them. Following the trip, Nicola said that it was nice to see a softer, more gentle side of the builder and that she would be happy for Seb to continue working with him.

Phelan became more interested in Nicola and the possibility of her being his daughter. Nicola found out that Phelan had been gathering documents about her in order to find out more about her and reacted badly, claiming that the builder was stalking her. Phelan claimed that she had knew her parents and while trying to prove his innocence, said that if he met up with them, they would prove he had no bad intentions. Nicola told him to go to a bench by the lake at Greenfield Park. When Phelan got to the park, he noticed that the bench had been engraved with a plaque dedicated to the memory of Isaac and Annabel.

Phelan returned to the Builder's Yard and saw that Nicola had been looking through the documents that he had gathered. When Nicola threatened to call the police, he revealed that he thought he may be her father. Nicola was unhappy to discover that her mother had ended the affair nine months before she was born and told Phelan that she'd rather not know whether or not he was her real father.

When Eileen saw how much Nicola was affecting her husband, she decided to interfere by showing her a picture of Phelan dancing with Annabel. Annoyed by the thought of their affair, Nicola told Eileen to leave her alone and that if she or Phelan contacted her again, she would phone the police.

After discovering about Phelan and Nicola, Seb decided to try and get his case manager to talk to his boss again. Seb did this by telling Nicola that he had lost his job because Phelan was dying. Although she found out Seb was lying, Nicola decided to go to 11 Coronation Street and give Eileen a DNA test for Phelan to take. Two weeks later, she returned with the results and announced to Phelan that she was indeed his daughter.

Nicola later had a one-night stand with Gary Windass, which resulted in her pregnancy. Eileen was elated when Gary told her the news, as was Pat, until it was revealed that Gary was the father.

Later in the year, Nicola began to grow suspicious of her father, after hearing stories from Anna Windass. After visiting family friend Lydia Hartman to confirm her suspicions, Nicola confronted Pat, demanding to know if she is product of an affair. When Pat lies again, Nicola decides to finish with him and leaves the street immediately. Before she leaves, she sees Anna, and tells her to be careful with Phelan around.

Gary later visited Nicola. He told her that Phelan could be watching her at any time. He agreed to help her flee the country, and that he would send money to help with the child.

When Gary was pronounced dead in the Ukraine, Phelan called on Nicola and told her the news. Nicola harshly blamed Pat for his death and rejected him. David Platt later called on Nicola and forced her to divulge that she was pregnant with Gary's baby.

After Anna Windass was falsely imprisoned for assaulting Seb, she returned to the street and made amends with her dad. She also defended Pat when Gary arrived. Later, it was revealed that she was only feigning her reunion with Pat. She told Gary that she was allowing Seb to stay with her, and that Seb had told her the truth about the death of Luke Britton. Gary and Nicola later agreed to work together to take Phelan down.

First and last lines
"Patrick Phelan?" (First line)