Watch Out Robert!
Revenge is a dish best served cold and Nick has the perfect recipe for Robert...
Ben Price hints at what's to come!
Talk us through Nick taking his revenge on Robert and what’s driving him?
With Carla having left and Nick being on his own, he is now focusing his hate on Robert. Carla isn’t here so he has to channel it somewhere - and with Robert, he has nothing to lose! Nick wants to ruin Robert, get him out the way and get the Bistro back. Nick’s hurt, he’s in real pain over what happened with Carla.
Is he confident that his rival restaurant can put Robert out of business?
Very confident! Nick doesn’t think Robert is any good, that’s the thing. Robert’s a fine chef, but he can’t run a business! He’s not got a clue. Nick couldn’t cook an egg but he gets the business, he understands it. Robert is no match for Nick, he’s nowhere near as crafty. Nick will either get the business back or he will ruin it. He started it and he wants it back.
Robert got hold of the Bistro under false pretences. Nick feels cheated and thinks, what kind of a man does that and then doesn’t hand it back?! It’s bad news. Robert’s the one in the wrong. So when Robert doesn’t play fair, Nick thinks, well fine... I’ll just ruin you instead!
Why does Nick shop Robert to the police for drink driving?
It’s a collective collapse. A little nail in the coffin, that’s what it is. I don’t think Nick really cares. It’s child's-play really! He hopes this will be the beginning of Robert’s demise. He can’t do it all - manage the Bistro, be the head chef, drive the van... and that’s what Robert is attempting. So Nick just wants to drive him further and further down.
Robert confronts Nick about shopping him to the police for drink driving, and Leanne overhears. Does it damage his relationship with her?
Leanne is sick of it. She wants the two of them to sort it out and get on with their lives, especially for Nick. She knows this isn’t good for him. Nick is her priority, I don’t think she’s that attached to Robert. Ultimately she wants the best for Nick and she can see this is affecting him. She can also see that Nick’s spite and revenge is a Carla trait coming through him. That revenge that Nick has now - where he can’t see anything else - isn’t him, and Leanne tells him that.
Nick will always listen to Leanne. She’s smart, she’s good at what she does, and Nick knows that. They care for each other a great deal, so when she tells him to stop all of this with Robert, he knows she’s trying to save him.
How do they eventually agree to split the restaurant 50/50?
They eventually agree on the basis that Leanne agrees to come back to work too. I think Nick just accepts it and thinks he will squeeze Robert out altogether eventually.
Where is Nick’s head at this point regarding Carla? And how would you sum up his feelings for Leanne in comparison?
He really thought that was it with Carla. It didn’t work with Leanne, then it didn’t work with Carla... but I think he’s always been in love with Leanne. First love, and he never lost that love. But he was also in love with Carla.
With Leanne he was able to think rationally about it - it didn’t work out, so he gave it a go with Carla instead. In hindsight he maybe found the rollercoaster of Carla a bit too much. It was a complete whirlwind.
How does it make him feel when he sees her growing closer to Robert? Is he jealous?
I think Nick is trying to work out all the time whether people have a game plan. He’s paranoid about being made a fool of again. That’s what he’s worried about. Deep down I don’t think he really believes there’s anything between Leanne and Robert other than friendship, but he is questioning whether she’s making a fool of him, or is going to make a fool of him. He’s just over-anxious because of what Carla did, so he’s trying to be two steps ahead of everyone.
Would you like to see Nick and Leanne get back together?
Yes absolutely. I love working with Jane, she’s a fantastic actress. We work together brilliantly. The characters have got history and they are both essentially good people - and are striving to be better. When you have two people like that - a bit like Fiz and Tyrone - they are essentially always trying to be good, they are striving all the time. If you pair people like Leanne and Peter, and Carla and Nick, they work for a bit, they thrive on the immediate passion, but long term you can’t make it work. It’s too tricky. Because one character is so flawed and the other is trying to balance that out and it’s too much to juggle.
But with Leanne and Nick, they find the middle ground together. They could be stable together and have a family. They’re both forgiving, they’ve both forgiven each other in the past. I feel lucky to work with Jane.
If Leanne is pregnant with another man’s baby, do you think Nick’s feelings for her would change?
I think he would be fine. He would think well she’s now single, he’s always wanted a family, so maybe this could be her big amends to her. He loves her and she loves him and he’s quite matter of fact about it. He would think, let’s crack on; that’s life, let’s go for it.
How instrumental will Nick be in helping to piece his brother back together?
David and Nick have grown much closer in recent times. It works best between them when they are in a room together and deal with things just the two of them. They can have an argument but if someone else steps in, they both tell them to back off. They help each other now.
David helped Nick a lot when Carla left, and Nick will in turn help David after Kylie. It’s not so distinct anymore that Nick is the older brother, the age gap between them has shrunk. David helps and supports Nick just as much as Nick supports him. I think we’ll see more of them leaning on each other.