Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope responds to Nicky and Caleb’s twist

Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale aired a major cliffhanger on Tuesday night (June 20) as Nicky Miligan was revealed as the culprit behind Caleb’s recent attack.

Nicky made an emotional visit to see her father in hospital, where Caleb remains in an induced coma after being pushed from a ravine last week.

During a chat with Chas and Charity Dingle, an unfortunate Nicky lied that he had only just heard about the violent incident. However, the truth was revealed to viewers as Nicky then had a moment alone with an unconscious Caleb, telling him, “I thought I killed you.”

Lewis Cope, who plays Nicky, recently caught up digital spy and other media to discuss the story.

What were Nicky’s motives for pushing Caleb?

“Nicky left the village on the wedding day and then he came back to try to make amends with his father. But as he returned to the village he discovered that Caleb had now bought Mill Cottage and not only had it bought, but gave them over the asking price.

“Caleb always had more than enough money. Caleb lied to Nicky saying he had no money and his mother was going to lose her house. He claimed that the reason they were getting revenge was to take care of Nicky’s mother.

“So Caleb was just lying to Nicky all along, and it was only then that he realized and found out about this information.

“Nicky then followed Caleb into the woods. I think it was just a whim. He was backed into a corner, he felt betrayed and hurt. Something took him – he took a decision and anger got the better of him.”

How would Nicky feel if Caleb died?

“The moment Nicky pushed Caleb, he felt tremendous regret, but also a mixture of relief, just because he felt like his dad had manipulated him for so long and obviously betrayed him.

“But Nicky still loves his dad. It would be tragic if Caleb were to die and if they found out it was Nicky, he could go to jail. But if they didn’t know it was Nicky either, then he could there’s relief there too.”

When this detective story appeared, did you always know that Nicky was the culprit?

“I actually knew that because Jane Hudson, the producer, told me a few months in advance. I was excited to see how it would turn out.”

Has Nicky behaved violently like this in the past?

“We didn’t learn much about Nicky’s background. A lot of what you learned was lies, because Nicky and Caleb fabricated this whole situation to try to get revenge.

“But I don’t think Nicky is an extremely aggressive person. I think everyone has the ability, depending on the situation they’re in, to do anything.”

Looking ahead, could this be more than a one-time incident?

“Given the circumstances, maybe Nicky could do it again. Maybe he could be swayed by the situations and do these things again, we don’t know yet.”

If Caleb survives, what will their relationship look like? Can they solve this problem?

“I’d like to think they could fix it, but on Caleb’s part, Nicky not only messed up his whole plan to get Home Farm, get revenge and get the money back, he also tried to kill him! So there’s a mountain to climb before he forgives Nicky, if he survives.”

Nicky has been telling a lot of lies over the past few months. Do you think these are redeemable?

“Yeah, I think it’s definitely redeemable because the lies weren’t really Nicky’s lies. They were given to Nicky by her dad, and I think Nicky was just the middleman for a lot of it. I don’t think they were actually his thoughts or his feelings.”

Is Nicky afraid of Caleb?

“He’s scared of him. There were a lot of scenes where he’ll try to stand up to Caleb, but he never seems to succeed. So he definitely feels inferior to him.”

Would you like to see them get closer?

“Yeah, I think you’ve only really seen them connect during a mission, really. From the beginning, you’ve only seen them with an end goal regarding Home Farm. It would be nice to see how they connect outside of that mission with that being in the past.”

Is there a future for Nicky and Ally?

“I think Nicky likes Ally massively. But after seeing what Nicky has done, Ally doesn’t seem interested at all and leaves, so I think it’s actually more about Ally than Nicky. I think Nicky would be happy with him and spend his life with him.”

Did you keep an eye on the fan reaction to Nicky?

“I’m on social media, I try not to look at the comments too much just because sometimes I think it can influence you and can take you down the wrong path. So I try to keep a clear mind about the script and how the scenes were, just so I could navigate it and not be influenced by other people.”

Would you like more history and more people introduced to the Miligan family?

“Yeah, I think it would be nice if Nicky’s mom were to come in. She’s been mentioned so much and she’s been such an important part of our story from the start. It would be nice to see that relationship between Nicky and her – like as well as Caleb and her, because it also seems very complex.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1 and airs on ITVX.

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