Corrie’s Nick Tilsley
The return of Nick Tilsley to Coronation Street has stirred things up for the family, friends and lovers he left behind. Julie Lordan finds out from Ben Price, who plays Nick, how life has suddenly got complicated on the cobbles
Julie Lordan talks to actor, Ben Price, about the return of Nick Tilsey to Weatherfield
Characters leaving and later returning to soaps is a time-honoured tradition that nonetheless, doesn’t always work out. Storylines have moved on and the viewers have forgotten what the character’s role was in the first place. However, Nick Tilsley, who has been in Corrie as a character since he was a baby(played by three different actors), is another matter.
When he drove away from Weatherfield in June 2017, he left a devastated partner and her baby (Leanne and baby Oliver – Steve McDonald’s son); his heartbroken mother Gail (the only person he said goodbye to) and his friends and family and headed off to a new life.
Nick was always weak but a storyline where he simply vanished without a proper goodbye was out of character. But now he’s back, begging forgiveness, but as we find out, he was not idle while away from Weatherfield.
Nor was Ben Price, who plays Nick. “I left as a family decision, I didn’t want to work anywhere else,” says Ben. “I left to take my kids to school, make packed lunches and be a Dad.”
The reason he’s back is his first love Leanne. Nick and Leanne first fell in love and married as teenagers. That broke up, of course, and many relationships later they realised they still had something special and got married for the second time.
That didn’t work out either. They
appeared to be happy – Leanne thought so anyway – when Nick vanished.
When Leanne was injured in a car accident, Nick felt compelled to come back and help her. Surely this time, however, Leanne will be more careful and not allow herself to be hurt? Or so you might think.
“Leanne is the love of Nick’s life but it’s really complicated,” says Ben Price. “He was hurt about how everything ended up with Oliver and Steve. He’s a proud man but when he learns that Leanne is in hospital, he wants to save the day. I think they’ve always loved each other.”
And then there is Carla, who also loved Nick, but she has moved on and seems to now have feelings for Peter. Carla, Leanne, Nick and Peter go around in circles: both Leanne and Carla have been married to Nick and to Peter, so there’s certainly history there.
That means complications, as both women react differently to the character’s return. “I think Carla is bemused and confused about why Nick’s come back,” says Ben. “I think she is smart and is very similar to Nick. With Carla, he’s got a bit more work to do to make things right than he has with others.”
Which woman would the actor like Nick to have a lasting relationship with now? Ben answers in typical Nick style. “I’d be happy to see him with either Leanne or Carla. Nick gets something very different from both characters. Nick and Carla are very well matched but Nick and Leanne are first loves. I think audiences like the way Carla has a go at Nick but they feel Leanne needs to be looked after. I don’t know where it will go.” Apart from the two women, there are other relationships that Nick has to repair, if he can. His brother David has been through a tough time (he was raped) and Nick wasn’t there for him.
David also has a new partner, Shona, and Nick cannot get over the fact that it was her son who killed David’s wife, Kylie. (Nick also had a onenight stand with Kylie, but no one mentions that any more.)
Ben reckons David needs time to forgive Nick for being absent. “David doesn’t have direct anger at Nick,” he says. “It’s just disappointment that Nick wasn’t there when David needed him. That’s hard for David as his friend, his best mate, the person he hates and the person he loves, are all his brother.” The news of what David went through is devastating for Nick. However, Nick’s relationship with Shona is awful. “Yeah,” says Ben, “Nick’s staying at the Platts’ but him and Shona don’t get on. Nick isn’t nice at all to her; he really doesn’t like what her son did. He’s highly suspicious of her. Nick has come back to defend his home and family, which is always his way.”
Then there is Simon, Leanne’s son, who saw Nick as his stepfather and was hurt when he walked out. “I think Simon has grown up a lot since Nick has been away, a lot has happened. Nick does want to be a father figure to him,” says Ben. But it is his relationship with the women in his life that will define Nick for the coming weeks and months. He seems to have softened Leanne’s attitude towards him; and she confides in her sister Toyah that Nick is a changed man and they might have a future. Toyah warns her that he can’t be trusted and it seems she has a point. When asked what Nick was doing while he was away from Weatherfield, Ben is evasive “He’s been running a business, running another restaurant, he has another life,” he says. Carla is suspicious of Nick’s vagueness about his business commitments in Nottingham and when she does some digging, she discovers Nick co-owns a restaurant with a woman called Elsa. Ben claims Elsa is his business partner, but is that all there is to it?
Carla isn’t convinced. She decides to head to Nottingham to check out his restaurant. Nick manages to talk her out of it, promising to tell all. He says he did a mate a favour and for tax reasons, agreed to become joint partner with his mate’s wife, Elsa. Sounds plausible. Viewers will be suspicious about why Elsa expects Nick back and about why they’re in touch so often. Seems quite needy for a mere business partner. Suspicion grows when Nick calls Elsa, lying that his Mum is ill and he has to stay in Weatherfield a while longer.
Nick tells Leanne he is committed to their relationship, but he needs to go to Nottingham to tie up some loose ends. He’s shocked when he sees Elsa has arrived in Weatherfield and is heading towards the Platts’ house. He manages to steer her towards the Bistro, watched by an intrigued Carla.
Furious that he has missed their business meeting and curious about who Elsa could be, Carla grabs Nick’s car keys and gets his address from his sat nav. But she is surprised by what she finds in the car!
It looks as if things are coming to a head when Elsa sees Carla getting out of Nick’s car and follows her to Roy’s flat to speak to her.
If Nick is hiding something, he has picked the wrong street to keep it a secret. Carla, for one, is now determined to find out what exactly Nick is up to and he is horrified to discover that she has been looking at his restaurant website.
Poor chap; if he was hoping for a quiet life and a fresh start, the women he left behind might have other ideas.
Whatever happens, Ben Price is glad to be back in Coronation Street, and to be playing a character that, whatever flaws he has, viewers find intriguing. As for that special family time that was missing from Ben’s life and forced him to leave Coronation Street before, it looks as if he has got it right this time. “I wanted to come back and we’ve made it so I have a better work/life
“Leanne is the love of Nick’s life but it’s really complicated “