Nick Tilsley

Nicholas Paul "Nick" Tilsley (previously Platt) is the oldest of Gail Rodwell's children and former owner of Nick's Bistro.

Born on New Year's Eve 1980, "Nicky" was incredibly close to his father Brian Tilsley. After Brian was stabbed to death, Nicky was adopted by Gail's second husband Martin Platt but changed his surname back to Tilsley in 1995 in order to inherit 5 Coronation Street as a condition of his grandmother Ivy Brennan's will.

Nick married his childhood sweetheart Leanne Battersby in secret when he was seventeen, much to the disapproval of both their families. After a year, Leanne fell pregnant but Nick wasn't ready to be a dad and paid for Leanne to have an abortion, causing them to separate. Nick spent most of the next decade working in Canada and Nottingham, with a year's sojourn in Weatherfield in 2003 in which he worked as assistant manager at Underworld while pursuing a romance with Maria Sutherland.

Nick moved back to Weatherfield in 2009 and set up Nick's Bistro after a period running the factory with Carla Connor. His heart was set on marrying Leanne but he had to wait until 2013 as Leanne initially chose Peter Barlow over him; it wasn't until Peter's affair with Carla that Leanne divorced him and reconciled with Nick.

In 2013, Nick and his half-brother David Platt were involved in a car crash which left Nick with brain damage. Nick's injury resulted in uncontrollable mood swings which strained his marriage to the point where he and Leanne inevitably separated.

In 2015, Nick supported a troubled Carla, resulting in a relationship. They were married in 2016, but on the wedding day Nick learned that Carla had cheated on him and the union was quickly annulled. Nick swiftly moved back to Leanne and was excited by the prospect of being a father figure to Oliver, her son with Steve McDonald. However, his paranoia over Steve and the ever-looming Peter soured his relationship with Leanne and Nick made the decision to leave Weatherfield for both of their sakes.

1981-1996: Early years
Nick Tilsley was the first-born child and only son of Brian Tilsley and Gail Platt He was born on New Year's Eve 1980 and was originally named Daniel David Tilsley, until it was pointed out to Gail that his initials would be 'DDT'. Because of this, she and Brian renamed him Nicholas Paul prior to his christening, and growing up he was known as "Nicky".

Nicky's first few years were spent in a happy home but over time Brian and Gail clashed strongly over Gail's desire to work and get out from under her interfering mother-in-law Ivy Tilsley's thumb. They also fought over Brian's immaturity. By 1986 Gail had had an affair with Tilsley family cousin Ian Latimer, falling pregnant; Brian and Gail split up. The child, Sarah Louise, was Brian's but he refused to believe it.

Brian began dating lawyer Liz Turnbull with Nicky a major issue throughout the relationship: Gail resented the thought of Liz spending time with him. Liz finally dumped Brian because she realised Nicky meant more to Brian than she ever could. Meanwhile, Gail was dating plumber Jeff Singleton. When Brian saw Jeff and his son together he snapped and kidnapped Nicky. The police set up a nationwide search, leading to a standoff between Gail and Brian at a motorway service station where Brian again departed with his son. Finally, Brian realised Nicky needed his mother and Brian and Gail reconciled.

Gail and Brian remarried in 1988 but the marriage was one of convenience as they had become very different people. In 1989 Gail told Brian she wanted a divorce, leading to a major argument when Gail refused to let Brian take Nicky. Brian stormed out, going to one of the clubs he had begun frequenting. When he stepped in to help a girl who was being pestered by a group of men in an alleyway, he was stabbed to death...

After his father's murder Nicky began to act out but Martin Platt proved a calming influence.

In 1991 Gail and Martin, now married, planned to have Martin adopt Nicky and change his last name to Platt. This would become a huge source of conflict in the family upon Ivy's death. Nicky became an altar-boy at St. Luke's, which Ivy made him do in exchange for getting him a place on the football team. When Martin dragged Nicky away from the football pitch Ivy reported Gail to Social Services as an unfit mother. In spite of these difficulties the adoption proceeded.

Nicky slowly began to regard Brian as the saint his grandma Ivy painted him to be, resulting in friction with Martin. Nicky saw Brian as tough and Martin as soft, telling Martin to not try to order him around as Martin wasn't his biological father. Nicky began to rebel, taking up smoking and demanding to be called 'Nick'. When Ivy died in 1995 her will stipulated that Nick must revert to his original surname Tilsley in order to inherit her house. This he did and the family became embroiled in a row over the property which was still occupied by Ivy's widower Don. Don eventually bought the house from Nick for £12,000.

In July 1996 Nick chose to stay at home while the rest of the family went on holiday to Prestatyn. He got sick of his grandmother Audrey Roberts fussing over him and ran off. He was missing for weeks and the family feared the worst. When he returned he claimed he'd been living rough in London and eventually went to work in a cafe. Martin was furious with him but Gail was mostly relieved. Nick's bold stories caused Jamie Armstrong to want to run away to London; when angrily confronted by Jamie's mother Tricia, Nick admitted that he'd only lasted two hours in London and spent the rest of his time in Torquay.

In 1996 Nick went to Canada. He returned in 1997 to study PE at Granston Technical College.

1997-1999: Relationship with Leanne
Nick lost his virginity to Leanne Battersby. Their fling was kept secret as Nick knew Gail did not approve of Leanne or her family. They chose to elope to Scotland and broke the news to his horrified mother. They eventually rented a room at 4 Coronation Street from Ashley Peacock and tried life as a married couple.

While Nick was at college studying humanities, his class had a visit from convicted murderer Darren Whateley, who was giving a first hand account of prison life. Nick was horrified to discover that he had come face to face with his father's killer. He wanted to make Darren pay and when he learned Darren was facing parole soon he began to write under Leanne's name, asking to meet Darren. Darren agreed, and when he was released went to see Leanne, assuming she wanted him. Leanne was frightened by him and furious with Nick for putting her in danger. Darren attempted to rape her. When Nick told Darren who he was Darren threatened to kill Nick the same way he'd killed Brian, but then got Nick to realise he was still too young to understand what had happened. Nick told the police what Darren had done, and he was returned to Strangeways Jail for breaching his parole conditions.

Leanne's money was not enough for the couple to live on so Nick became a model for teacher Miranda Peters. Leanne eventually began to suspect him of adultery and confronted him as he posed for Miranda. She left him, even refusing to attend his eighteenth birthday party.

Nick was shocked when Leanne told him of her pregnancy. Miranda told him Leanne should have an abortion and Nick demanded her to do so. Leanne somewhat reluctantly agreed and was then upset to learn he had told everyone she'd lost the baby. Nick decided to move to Canada, going on his own when Leanne told him she didn't love him.

1999-2004: Return and Maria Sutherland
Nick arrived for his mother's wedding to Richard Hillman in July 2002. He began a relationship with Maria Sutherland and she left with him for Canada. She returned soon after, unhappy with the experience.

Nick returned in September 2003 and became friends with his younger sister Sarah's boyfriend Todd Grimshaw. Todd and Sarah were having problems, and one night while Nick was asleep a tipsy Todd kissed him on the lips. Nick was in no way receptive to Todd's advances and was disgusted when Sarah forgave Todd.

Nick found work at Mike Baldwin's factory, Underworld. When Janice Battersby made fun of him, he planted alcohol in her bag and had her fired, but was forced to reinstate her when cleaner Harry Flagg said he had seen what Nick had done. When Janice accidentally started a fire at the factory, Nick saved her, and was hailed for his efforts.

Nick reconciled with Maria and she moved into his family home at No. 8, although Gail did not care for her. Meanwhile, Nick's ex-wife Leanne had recently returned to Weatherfield. She was angry with Maria for sleeping with her sister Toyah's boyfriend, John Arnley. Nick and Maria planned to return to Canada but Leanne convinced Nick to come by her flat. Leanne later sent Maria a photo of the two of them together. Maria dumped Nick and he returned to Canada alone. Sometime later, Nick returned to Britain and moved to Nottingham and ran his own business.

2009-2010: Back in Weatherfield
When Audrey couldn't convince Gail to call off her wedding to Joe McIntyre, she decided to summon Nick back to talk some sense into her. Nick met Tina McIntyre in a bar and introduced himself, but she didn't know he was related to Gail or his younger half-brother David Platt. He told her that he was back to stop his mum marrying a loser. Tina later left the bar - as she was already in a relationship with Jason Grimshaw - with whom she'd argued earlier on. Later Nick learned that his half-brother David was once involved with Tina. The pair briefly flirted which resulted in David flying off the handle. He threatened to kill Nick like his dad before him, however Nick saw red and smashed David into the wall, warning him about his behaviour.

In 2010, Nick bought up Tony Gordon's share of Underworld, and was a business partner to factory owner Carla Connor. In June that year, Carla's murderous husband broke out of Highfield Prison and took Carla hostage in the factory, before setting it on fire. Carla managed to escape but Tony perished. In light of the incident, Carla and boyfriend Trevor Dean went on holiday to South Africa and during this time Nick decided to set up his own clothing firm, under the trade name of Nick's Knicks. When Carla returned she wasn't happy when she discovered what Nick had been up to, as he had stolen her workforce. She then gave his buyer Paul Stokes a better deal which he agreed upon, and Nick decided to let her work with him until the factory was rebuilt.

2010-2012: Leanne/Peter love triangle
When the factory was eventually rebuilt, Nick wasn't happy when Carla hired Trevor to become trainee manager, and eventually quit. He then decided to use Turners Joinery to set up a bar, a plan previously thought up by Leanne and her fiancé Peter Barlow. Nick then asked Leanne to come and work with him, to which she agreed. The Joinery bar eventually opened up, but Nick couldn't contain his feelings for Leanne and they began an affair. The pair were caught by Leanne's soon-to be father-in-law Ken Barlow and Leanne decided to leave Nick as she and Peter were due to get married soon and Ken decided to keep the affair a secret as long as she promised that she was sure the affair was over. Nick still couldn't contain his feelings, and later asked Leanne to marry him, but she declined, insisting that she still loved Peter.

During Peter's stag night celebrations on 6th December 2010, Nick intended to tell Peter about the affair. He took him into the office, but they were interrupted by Ashley Peacock who wanted to talk with Peter first. Suddenly, due to a fluctuating gas supply, a huge explosion tore through The Joinery which caused a tram to come careering off the damaged viaduct and into Coronation Street. Trapped inside, Nick and Ashley needed to help Peter who was badly injured. Ashley managed to hold up a pillar to enable Nick to get Peter to safety, but Ashley was later killed after rubble collapsed and crushed him to death.

Immediately after the devastation, an investigation was launched and gossip quickly spread around the street with residents believing that Nick was to blame for the incident as the establishment's chef, Ciaran McCarthy, had already notified him of a problem with the gas pressure earlier that evening. This news further upset Ashley's widow Claire and Nick decided to leave Weatherfield again, however he was relieved when DS Miller informed him that the investigation had shown that the gas equipment had proved to be faulty and that the explosion had not been caused by human error.

On New Year's Eve, a broken Nick gave in to Tracy Barlow's sexual advances and the pair were caught by Leanne in a compromising position in Barlow's Bookies. Having already slept with David since being newly released from Redford Prison and hurling insults at the revellers in the Rovers Return, she was found unconscious and beaten up in the back yard of No.1. Nick was suspected along with most other street residents, although Claire Peacock was responsible for the attack.

Nick still wanted Leanne, and tried to tempt Peter back on the drink, hoping for him to fall off the wagon. However, Peter found out about Leanne and Nick's affair from Tracy after she overheard Leanne and Carla arguing about it in the Rovers' toilets. On 14th February 2011, Peter and Leanne were to renew their wedding vows in a blessing ceremony and he asked Nick to be his best man. Nick eventually accepted, unaware that Peter knew all about the affair and was plotting some kind of revenge. During the ceremony, Peter refused to recall his vows and presented Leanne with an envelope containing a solicitor's letter requesting a divorce. Leanne was horrified as Peter announced to the whole congregation that she had been having an affair with Nick. Gathering his thoughts inside The Joinery, Peter turned up and threatened Nick with an iron bar. Trying to get away, Peter knocked him to the ground and threatened to kill him, however spared him as Nick saved his life in the explosion. Peter left and reunited with Leanne a few days later, deciding to put the whole mess behind them.

The premises was rebuilt and eventually reopened as Nick's Bistro in April. He quickly hired Cheryl Gray and promoted her as manager.

2012-2014: The crash and brain damage
Nick and Leanne resumed their relationship in 2012 after Leanne left Peter but she was caught up in a custody war with Peter over his son Simon. When Simon chose Leanne over Peter however, he left Weatherfield with Carla in order to heal himself of his alcoholism. Nick and Leanne got engaged, and planed to get married on 25th December 2012. A few days prior to the big day, Peter returned unexpectedly and Leanne decided that she couldn't marry Nick as she still had feelings for Peter. Although after she realised that Nick would always try his best to make her happy, put her doubts down to nerves and decided that the wedding was back on.

During the ceremony, Eva Price informed the wedding party that Leanne planned to leave him for Peter, but changed her mind due to Peter getting back with Carla. A furious Nick called the wedding off and went to his hotel room. After being treated badly by David, his wife Kylie went back to Dalebrook Hall offering her support. They ended up sleeping together, and were almost caught together the next morning when Gail and David came to check on Nick. He decided to forgive Leanne and they got married on 11th January 2013.

After their one-night stand, Kylie discovered that she was pregnant but didn't know if the child was Nick's or David's. Gail found out and threatened to go to the police because of Kylie's part in helping Lewis Archer get access to her bank account details, however Nick also confessed that Lewis had found out and blackmailed Kylie. Gail was shocked, however decided to keep it a secret as she didn't want David to be stressed out.

An anonymous letter was sent to Leanne, informing her to question Nick about his activities on Christmas Day (when he and Kylie slept together), and Nick discovered that he was being investigated for watering-down spirits at the bistro, he came to the conclusion that David was responsible. He took David for a drive and told him that he knew the truth and that David was leading the hate campaign, before confessing to sleeping with Kylie. Nick then offered to drive back to the bistro but David - hit with the starkness that he could have lost his wife - unfastened Nick's seatbelt and grabbed the steering wheel causing them to veer off the road, which led to an oncoming truck hitting the car.

Nick ended up in a coma following the accident. After nearly two months in Weatherfield General he awoke, but panicked when he saw David. When Kylie revealed that her baby daughter Lily had been born and showed him photographs, Nick began to repeat "Mine" over and over, although Leanne put it down to him trying to say "my niece". Eventually, at Lily's christening, Nick revealed all, including David's "stunt" which almost got them both killed. Kylie immediately declared their marriage over and Leanne also finished with Nick. The pair eventually reconciled but Nick began suffering from mood swings when under stress and slapped Leanne across the face over Christmas 2013. They stayed together for the interim and Nick sought help from personal trainer Kal Nazir.

In January 2014, Nick decided that he couldn't risk losing his temper towards Leanne again, and feeling guilty that his behaviour meant that Simon was safer living with Peter, the marriage irretrievably broke down. Leanne moved in with her mother Stella at No.13 but despite this they remained partners at the bistro, as Nick continued fitness training with Kal.

Although Nick hoped for a reconciliation with Leanne, she instead started a relationship with Kal. Nick was furious at what he saw as a betrayal and demanded a divorce from her. He began to make life difficult for Leanne, especially at work, forcing her to quit. Nick also began faking seizures to induce guilt in Leanne but she was able to see through him. Months later, Nick persuaded Leanne to return to working at the Bistro when the staff were struggling and the pair were able to form a friendship.

2015-2016: Relationship with Carla
In late 2014, Nick started a fling with Erica Holroyd. Neither of them took their relationship seriously and in early 2015, Nick developed a friendship with Carla Connor, which soon became romantic. In May, Erica dropped a bombshell on Nick that she was pregnant with his child. Erica decided to keep the baby as she was nearing her 50th birthday and believed it was her last chance to have a child. Nick chose to support her by forming a proper relationship, but it was clear he was doing it solely because of the pregnancy as his feelings for Carla were developing. Erica soon miscarried and broke up with Nick as she knew Carla was the one he loved.

When a fire broke out at Carla's flat killing Maddie Heath and Kal, most people on the street blamed Carla while Nick was one of the few people who supported her. Carla turned to gambling and alcohol so Nick contacted Aidan Connor, persuading him to invest in Underworld to help the business which had fallen into serious debt from Carla's gambling. Nick and Carla became an official couple in August. In September, Tracy Barlow admitted to a suicidal Carla that she caused the Victoria Court fire and was therefore responsible for Kal and Maddie's deaths. Nick reported Tracy to the police and helped Carla get her life back on track.

Later in the year, Carla asked Nick to marry her, which he accepted. On New Years Day 2016, Carla drunkenly slept with Tracy's boyfriend Robert Preston, following a series of troubles with her family. Tracy learned of the one-night-stand and blackmailed Carla into leaving town. Carla jumped on the idea of a new start, and persuaded Nick to move away with her, which also meant that he would need to sell away the Bistro. Part of Tracy's blackmail involved Carla ensuring that the Bistro was sold to Robert, forcing her to steal money from Underworld to give to Tracy. As their wedding approached, Nick remained oblivious to Carla's level of deceit and reluctantly sold the Bistro to Robert.

The wedding arrived in May 2016. As it took place, Carla confessed to Nick about the one-night-stand with Robert, but didn't inform him of the blackmail and subsequent events. After a talk with David, Nick agreed to go ahead with the wedding but Tracy arrived and told Nick the full details of Carla's deception. Nick had Tracy ushered out and married Carla regardless but during the wedding reception the enormity of the situation finally hit him and he realised that Carla's behaviour meant he could never trust her. Nick ended it with Carla and told her they would be having an annulment. Carla moved to Devon and Nick refused to say goodbye.

2016-2017: Leanne and the baby
Having lost his fiancée and business, Nick's life was in tatters. He received support from Leanne who helped him try and coax Robert into returning the Bistro to him, but Robert refused, although several weeks later, Nick eventually persuaded Robert to give him back 50% of the restaurant. As Leanne continued to support Nick, his romantic feelings for her once again grew but they were at first not reciprocated.

In June, shortly after Nick confessed his love to her, Leanne had a one-night-stand with Steve McDonald, becoming pregnant by him. She chose to escape to Liverpool from all the drama but when Nick learned she was pregnant, he told her that he loved her regardless, with Leanne admitting the same. The couple remained in Weatherfield and Nick suggested that they told their families that he was the baby's father. When Leanne admitted to Nick that Steve was the baby's father he became bitterly jealous, confronting him about it, but soon accepted the truth when Steve insisted the baby meant nothing to him and that Nick was free to raise it as his own.

In October, Peter Barlow returned to Weatherfield after living in Portsmouth for two years and his connection to Leanne through Simon caused Nick to become paranoid that he would try and steal Leanne from him. In the lead up to Christmas, Nick picked up on hints that Peter wanted another relationship with Leanne, which caused Nick to attack Peter in the street. It later emerged that Peter was actually having a secret affair with Leanne's stepsister Toyah.

Leanne gave birth to her son Oliver in February 2017. Nick's charade as Oliver's biological father ended a few days later when Steve confessed to being the child's real father. A fuming Nick refused to give Steve any access but Leanne was more easily persuaded, even allowing Steve to have his name placed on Oliver's birth certificate. Nick was deeply hurt by the reality that he would never be Oliver's real father.

In May 2017, Nick went to the beach with Leanne, Toyah and Oliver, as well as Steve and Peter. While he was looking around, he got stuck in quicksand. Peter urged Nick to try and save himself, but he couldn't, so the emergency services were alerted and Nick was rescued.

Back at home, Nick told Leanne that she deserved someone better than him. Leanne begged him to stay, but Nick had already made up his mind. After a last farewell with Gail, he thanked her for guiding him with his business, before getting into his car and driving off, seeking a new life.

One month later, Gail revealed to Audrey that Nick had found a buyer for his flat, and said that no matter how much Nick would defend her, she blamed his departure on Leanne.

2018-: Return to Weatherfield
In October of 2018, Leanne was involved in a car accident with Ronan Truman and the Connors. She was rendered unconscious for some time. In the meantime, doctors called her emergency contact, who was still Nick due to her forgetting to change it after he left Weatherfield. Toyah was stunned to see Nick by Leanne's bedside and when asked to leave by her, he announced he wasn't going anywhere.

Nick remained at Leanne's bedside until she regained consciousness. Due to her being on medication, a drowsy Leanne told Nick to stay and that she loved him, but later on, when she had fully recovered from the effects of her medication, was shocked to see Nick and asked him to leave. Even so, Nick continued to visit until Leanne told him she couldn't forgive him or love him again due to what he put her through and his absence during her lowest moments.

As this was happening, Nick also tried to reconcile with his family. He was welcomed back by Gail and Simon, but David was openly hostile due to Nick not being there through his rape ordeal and near suicide. Nick showed concern for David but he nor Gail wanted to open up to him about why David was traumatised. Nevertheless, Nick resolved to stick around for a while. However, Nick later took a call from a contact in his phone simply called "E", telling them he'd be returning soon.

Background information

 * Nick made his first appearance in January 1981, though he was born a few days earlier on New Years Eve 1980. The first actor to portray Nick was Warren Jackson who was selected because his parents were friends of Christopher Quinten, who played his onscreen father Brian Tilsley. Jackson played the role until the age of 15, when he decided to quit in order to concentrate on his GCSEs. He made his final appearance in September 1996. Although Jackson planned on returning when his exams finished, in 1997 the decision was made by new producer Brian Park to recast the character to take him in a new direction. In a later interview, Jackson revealed that he was never informed of his axing by producers and only learned of it when a reporter arrived at his home.
 * The second actor to play Nick was Adam Rickitt, who made his first appearance in October 1997. Rickitt left the role in April 1999 to focus on his music career. He made a short return in mid-2002 and returned a second time from September 2003 to July 2004.
 * In 2009, producers decided to bring back the character. The offer was made for Rickitt to resume the role but he declined to return, choosing instead to work on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. In July 2009, plans were announced to recast the role. In October, former Footballers' Wives star Ben Price was announced as the new Nick. The character returned full-time in December 2009.
 * In January 2017, it was announced that Ben Price had quit the role of Nick for personal reasons, revealing that he wanted to spend more time with his family in London. His final scenes were filmed that April and the character departed on 2nd June.
 * Todd kissing an unconscious Nick in 2004 has been called the first gay kiss on Coronation Street.