Nick Tilsley
Could the pressure of keeping his secrets sent Nick down a deadly path? We spoke to Ben Price to find out...
FIRST LOOK:
Having discovered Carla’s plans to outsource production at Underworld and cut him out of the business Nick is fuming.
He has had his eye off the ball while focussing on the Barbers but as he desperately tries to keep the fact he embezzled the funds from Audrey a secret, it looks like his deception could be coming home to roost.
Accomplice Natalie’s causing trouble and David’s getting edgy. Needing more money to keep a blackmailing Natalie off his back, Nick tells David he’d be better off if the business went up in smoke...
Expecting the factory to have been empty on the day of the collapse, could an ever darker Nick have attempted an insurance job to free up his cash? He stole from his own Gran, what is Nick really capable of?
Ben Price Interview
In the weeks before the factory collapse we’ve seen Nick coming under more and more pressure as he battles to keep the fact he stole Audrey’s money hidden, is Nick a man on the edge?
Yeah he’s on the edge, I don’t think Nick likes not being in control. This all started when he lost his money to Elsa and it was a way of regaining control. He always thought he’d have chance to pay his gran back before she found out but in classic Corrie style it escalates and becomes much bigger than he thought, especially now his brother knows and Natalie is on the Street. I think he thought he could take the money and fix it later.
Knowing what he did could ruin his family and his relationship with Leanne, how far is he prepared to go to keep this hidden?
I think he’ll just lie through his teeth until he gets to such a point and backed into such a corner that he has to tell the truth, and even then he won’t tell the whole truth. He truly believes he is omnipotent, he can fix this, people will see his point of view.
While dealing with his problems at the barbers shop has he taken his eye off the ball at the factory?
Yeah definitely, he thinks he can just fly in and out of the factory and say do this, do that and it will almost run itself. He doesn’t want to be too involved in the day-to-day, talking to Kirk, he just wants to be in the office doing the big deals.
How is the working relationship between Nick and Carla?
I think quite good actually, they work well together, they’ve put their past relationship behind them and they’re good in business together. As an actor I like the scenes in the factory, I think they work well together.
How does Nick react when he discovers that Carla is planning to outsource production and cut him out of the business?
He’s angry because then it’s about money and Nick’s not prepared to lose his money. He’s not shocked because it’s Carla but he’s angry. It’s one of those situations where she’s trying to get one over on him and it’s all a bit of a headache. For Nick he bought into the factory and he just wants to get on with running it, he’s already dealing with David at the barbers so he could do with an easier life.
Carla also reveals that the factory roof needs replacing, how does Nick react to this, is he worried?
Yes but only in terms of the money they’re going to need to spend, he doesn’t expect it to ever actually collapse. He thinks they can just gloss over it, get Gary up there, do a bit of a botch job and carry on as normal.
When he tells David that he’d be better off if the factory burned down as all his money is tied up in it, how serious is Nick? Does he really want the factory gone?
He says it quite flippantly but then on closer reflection he thinks wouldn’t it be great.
Is Nick capable of intentionally damaging the factory to claim on the insurance?
Nick’s bizarrely moral in terms of people and danger but not at all in terms of money. If he thought there was no one in there, which is meant to be the case on the day of the roof collapse, then yes he could be capable of it.
Nick’s a planner, if he knows there’s no one due to be in there it could be the perfect opportunity. The roof is already a mess, do a bit more damage and blame it on Carla maybe. If it’s just purely financial, controlled and no one could get hurt then yes, I think he would do it. If he can come out of the situation well and move on then fine.
We’ve seen a darker side to Nick since his return, what is it that has made Nick so embittered? Could Nick be a future villain?
I don’t know whether he’s an out and out archetypal villain but has he had enough of being pushed around and being the nice guy? Yes. Does he think he’s smarter than most people on that Street? Yes. Does he think he can get away with most things? Yes he does.
Nick’s come back to the Street thinking I’m going to get something for myself, I’ve looked after everyone else over the years and all they’ve done is take from me - his wife, his family, his brother, Carla, his business, the Bistro. Anything he’s ever started has been taken from him and actually he’s had enough. He thinks none of them are that smart so catch me! Maybe David is though, we’ll have to see.
Where is Nick when the factory collapses?
He’s in the Barbers shop, he runs out in the aftermath.
Are you enjoying playing a darker Nick?
Yes it’s great, I don’t worry personally about whether Nick is liked or not liked, I enjoy him being the sort of character where people say "Ooh I don’t like him, he thinks he’s all that." I like that, I think it’s important for him and his character, and his brother. Neither are that bothered whether people like them or not, they’re out for what they can get, they’re very well matched.
It’s nice to have come back and see the writers have used that time when he’s been away to reimagine him. It’s nice to come back to a different Nick.
How long will Nick and David stay ‘thick as thieves’?
Not very long! They’ll definitely turning on each other when the pressure gets too much, I think they have to, that’s the relationship between the two brothers. Normally they don’t get on then it’s some outside force that joins them back together.
The advantage of them being brothers is you can get away with a lot more than with another character, you always can, it’s in their blood. They can be intrinsically linked but still hate each other and that is very interesting to play. As David’s got older he’s got two sides; the responsible family side and and the angry side. Nick has that anger too, that he holds over what happened to his father, so they’re well matched and they’re smart. Nick blinds his mum and his Gran but David sees him for what he is.
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