Nick Knows The Truth!
Nick is devastated by the revelation that Steve is the father of Leanne's baby but what will he do next?
Ben Price hints at what's coming up...
Why does Nick want everyone to think that the baby is his?
Nick’s partly protecting Leanne and maybe a bit of it is pride as he just doesn’t want the ear ache from his mum. He doesn’t want questions.
Nick wants to feel like he and Leanne could be a family and as he’s going to be right there from when the baby is very young, he does think that they could grow to be a family. So he sees this as the only step to making it work. Not to mention he’s only just come out of a failed marriage to Carla so it’s not great timing as he’s got to be a bit careful to make his and Leanne’s relationship look smooth.
Does he really think he will be able to raise the child as his own even though it isn’t?
I don’t know, I think Nick loves Leanne and he will love the child but it is a big question that I think he’s going to struggle with. I don’t think he’s got it completely set in his mind, all he knows is that he does loves Leanne and wants to look after her.
However Nick does have a relationship with Simon. That is Peter Barlow’s child and he hates Peter Barlow, so he has got it in him but it may always be a sticking point.
You just don’t know until the baby comes but he is honest and true about his feelings for Leanne.
Does Nick have any idea who the dad maybe?
No, I think he just thinks it is a random bloke, I don't think he does at all.
Why doesn’t he push Leanne to tell him?
Nick is absolutely happy to know that it is just some random, someone he will never meet. What worries him the most is that he does all this and then five, ten years time, someone pops up and goes, “I am the dad.”
Nick doesn’t want those complications so I don’t think he's that bothered to press Leanne about who the father is.
Is Leanne the love of Nick’s life? Does Nick see this as a new beginning for them?
Nick and Leanne always have been first loves but in soap it never runs smooth. This is a new beginning for them because after he realised the amount of deceit that was in his relationship with Carla, he realised that Leanne has always been there for him.
What is Nick’s reaction when Leanne tells Nick who the baby’s biological father is? Why do you think she tells him?
I think Leanne is annoyed with Steve so it’s almost to get back at Steve, a bit like, “Right, you didn’t want anyone to know, you just wanted to brush it under the carpet, so I am going to tell Nick.”
Nick can't believe it’s Steve for a start. But then he thinks this is very complicated now; Nick’s known Steve his whole of his life and he lives across the street. This is difficult now. This changes things.
Is Nick especially upset to learn that Leanne slept with Steve on the night Nick declared his love for her?
No, I don’t think so. Nick has got to be a bit careful of suddenly becoming incredibly moralistic when he just nearly got married! Leanne is a single girl and regardless of whether Nick says he loves her or not, he doesn’t own her.
I think he is a bit more incredulous that the father is Steve. Why would you pick Steve?
Why does Nick go and see Steve? What is his plan?
Nick’s plan is to scare Steve. He wants to find out what Steve’s intentions are and when he discovers that Steve has no interest in Leanne or the baby, Nick has to make sure that Steve has no interest for the rest of his life. He wants Steve to almost forget, go away and be scared about ever bringing up the child. Perfect.
Doesn’t he believe Steve when Steve say she wants nothing to do with Leanne’s baby?
Nick says that he does believe Steve, but who knows where you go to in a few years time? Nick has to find a bit of a lever to make sure that Steve won’t change his mind in the future because he only has to see the baby and suddenly it all changes…
Nick want’s Steve and Michelle to move away and says if they won’t, then he’ll text Michelle and tell her the truth about Leanne’s baby - is this an empty threat?
No, I don’t think it is an empty threat, Nick is quite happy to tell Michelle.
This is the difference in Nick now: He’s gone through so much with his brain injury and his brother, he’s changed so much as a character that he hasn't got that much to lose. Nick hasn’t got his business as Robert has taken a bit of it off him, Carla wrecked his life and so I think he’s a bit like, “Well Steve, if you want to push me to the edge then you’ll get it, of course I will say this to Michelle.”
This change in Nick has been happening for a while. After the Carla stuff he doesn’t really trust anyone, a bit like his brother.
Will he ever be able to get over the fact that Steve is the baby’s birth dad? Is Nick tempted to walk away from Leanne because of it?
Nick may be able to get over this fact just because of what has happened with Simon with Simon being Peter’s kid. If Steve is going to keep out of the way then he will have no problems and he will be the child’s dad but it is more a case of whether Steve will be keeping out of the way…
Might this news cause Nick’s brain problems to erupt again?
It’s a stressful situation but it's not like the wedding or the business, this is something that Nick is in and he is choosing to be in. He could walk away from Leanne, he could walk away from the baby.
The stress of when he feels he can’t walk away, when he’s trapped by it, that’s when it edges into his brain injury and continual stress. But he is happy with Leanne, much happier that he was with Carla. He’s aware of what a lot of stress does to him, when it overwhelms him, that’s when it all goes a bit pear-shaped.