Nick Neeson was the biological father of Ryan Connor.
On 14th January, 1992 Nick's wife Wendy gave birth to a son, whom they named Alex. However their child was inadvertently mixed up at Weatherfield General with Michelle Connor and her partner Dean's son, who was born on the same day. Thus, Nick and Wendy brought up their son believing him to be theirs, while Michelle and Dean brought up their real son as Ryan Connor.
Neither Nick and Wendy or Michelle and Dean were aware that their sons had been mixed up until Alex was around fourteen when Alex fell ill and was rushed into hospital. It was then that his blood group was checked. His blood group was significantly different from Nick's and Nick was told that it wasn't possible for Alex to be his son. Nick assumed that Wendy had had an affair, causing them to split up with her denying it. Wendy, however, had a DNA test which revealed that Alex wasn't her son either. The doctor told them that the only possible explanation was that Alex had been mixed up with another baby after being born. Nick hired a private detective who discovered that there was only one baby born on the same ward at the same time as Alex, Ryan Connor, son of Michelle and Dean. This eventually led Nick to believe Ryan was his biological son.
In November 2007, Nick began to stalk Ryan. He waited outside Weatherfield High School where Ryan attended and also outside the Rovers Return where Ryan lived. Ryan began to feel nervous after he constantly saw Nick's car. Ryan refused to attend school because he believed he was being stalked, and when Michelle received a phone call from the school saying Ryan had been leaving early and arriving late, she accused him of trying to skive. Ryan and his mother became very worried when Nick addressed him by name. Subsequently, Michelle put Ryan under house arrest and her brother Liam agreed to chaperone Ryan to and from school. When Liam waited to collect Ryan from school, he noticed the car Ryan had described and pounced on Nick, demanding to know why he had been following his nephew. He shocked Liam by revealing he is Ryan's father. This led to Michelle's friends and family questioning whether she was ever unfaithful to Dean, but she furiously defended herself. Michelle also lied to Ryan about the stalker and claimed he had been caught by the police, reluctant to tell him that the stalker had claimed to be his dad.
When Lloyd Mullaney dropped Ryan off at school, he noticed Nick's car and followed it to his house in Sale. Having discovered where Nick lived, Michelle decided to confront him. However, when Alex answered the door she was shocked because he resembled Dean greatly. When Nick told her that Ryan and Alex had possibly been swapped at birth, Michelle assumed he was lying and left. Nick decided to visit the Rovers and told Michelle that the only way of knowing was to have a DNA test. Michelle later agreed to talk with Nick and reluctantly agreed.
Nick, annoyed, confronted Michelle at the pub when she failed to turn up for the DNA test because Liam was involved in an accident. Ryan, still unaware of the truth about Nick, spotted him talking with Michelle's boyfriend Steve. Michelle lied to Ryan once again claiming Nick had returned to apologise for the trouble he caused and had mistaken Ryan for someone else. On Ryan's sixteenth birthday, Nick approached Ryan and offered him a gift. Nick told him about Michelle's lies and that he is his father and was swapped at birth. Ryan was angry that he was not told by Michelle and ran away. Subsequently, a devastated Michelle blamed Nick for the whole situation. Ryan was confronted by Alex in the street and they had a fight after Ryan told him Nick was his dad. The two boys were taken to hospital after Alex was hit by a car.
When the DNA test results proved Nick's claims to be true, Ryan refused to see Nick and Wendy. Nick subsequently wrote a letter to Ryan saying he couldn't bare the thought of not seeing him again. Ryan, however, made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. Despite this, Alex began to feel that he wanted to see Michelle and later went to stay at the Rovers when he refused to live with Nick or Wendy, although later moved out when he was told that he couldn't live with them.
Ryan eventually agreed to see Nick, but this made Michelle worry that he would choose Nick over her when Nick invited Ryan to go away with him over Easter. She became increasingly worried as Ryan began to see Nick on several occasions, especially since Alex refused to see her after being thrown out. However, Alex agreed to see Michelle again and Nick continued to meet up with Ryan on occasions.
List of appearances[]
2007
2008