Emmerdale: Real life of Nicky actor Lewis Cope – from girlfriend to David Beckham connection
25 Apr 2023, 17:17
Tags:
Emmerdale, Lewis Cope, Nicky Miligan
Emmerdale dropped the bombshell that newcomer Nicky has a secret gay past last night. But as he continues to play fiancée Gabby Thomas and pretend he’s in love with her, all while sleeping with ‘old friend’ Ally, it’s all set to end in tears.
In real life, thankfully, actor Lewis Cope is far more settled. He has been in a relationship for six years.
He also has a connection to David Beckham, a dancing past, and a massive family. Here’s the lowdown on Lewis.
Nanny Nicky has been hiding something in Emmerdale (Credit: ITV)
Who is Nicky in Emmerdale?
Nicky arrived in Emmerdale in December 2022 as the new nanny working at Home Farm. He seemed very perfect – a little too perfect… And Gabby quickly took a liking to him.
After a relentless pursuit on her side, and plenty of resistance on his, Gabby and Nicky finally hooked up. They kept their relationship a secret, but within weeks Kim had found out the truth and Nicky proposed.
As Gabby sets about planning the wedding of her dreams, she has no idea that behind the scenes this is all a big sham. Nicky is conning her.
It was revealed earlier this month that Nicky is secretly the son of Caleb Miligan, who is the secret son of Frank Tate. They’re working together to bring down Kim Tate and claim Home Farm. Nicky’s part is to get Gabby’s shares for himself.
However, show boss Jane Hudson warned there were more secrets to come from Nicky. And sure enough, on Monday April 24 it was revealed Nicky is attracted to men. Whether he is gay or bisexual has not been confirmed, but he was seen kissing Ally, who he had previously claimed was just an old friend.
Things are set to get very messy indeed. However, Jane has confirmed it’s only a matter of weeks until the plot is exposed. It looks set to be explosive.
Nicky and Caleb are father and son (Credit: ITV)
Who plays Nicky and what else has Lewis Cope been in?
Lewis Cope plays Nicky in Emmerdale. He is thought to be around 26 years old, although has never confirmed his age.
Prior to Emmerdale, Lewis had a part in an episode of Doctors. He is perhaps best known to viewers for his role in ITV drama Vera. He played a character named Marcus Hynde in an episode in 2021. The actor has also filmed a part for the yet-to-air series Mrs Sidhu Investigates starring Meera Syal.
As well as television roles, Lewis was in the West End. He appeared in Billy Elliot: The Musical when he was just 11 years old, playing Billy’s gay best friend.
The accomplished dancer was also part of street dance group Ruff Diamond who were runners-up in Sky TV show Got To Dance in 2013.
Lewis is from a huge family – he has 13 brothers and sisters and 13 neices and nephews! Phew.
He revealed to The Mirror recently: “I’m from a family of 14. Most of my brothers are boxers, but I chose to dance.” And it was his love of dance that led him to a meeting with David Beckham.
David Beckham teamed up with Lewis for an ad campaign (Credit: YouTube)
Is Lewis Cope related to David Beckham?
Although there are questions about whether Lewis and David are related, in fact they aren’t. The pair did team up for an advert, however in 2020.
The former footballer was impressed with Lewis’ story of becoming a dancer when all of his brothers were boxers. It was then used for David’s fragrance Bold Instinct.
In the same Mirror interview, Lewis revealed: “David used my story to encourage people to be themselves. We spent a day filming and he interviewed me; he was such a nice guy.”
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Emmerdale: Is Nicky actor Lewis Cope married?
Lewis is not married, but he is loved-up! The Emmerdale actor lives in London with his girlfriend Rachel Lopez. They are thought to have been together for over six years.
Rachel is also an actor. As well as acting, she is a qualified pilates instructor.
Lewis and Rachel regularly share romantic pictures together. At Christmas, Lewis shared a series of images of them celebrating and captioned it: “Six year of Dublin at Christmas with you. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The couple also like their holidays! Back in summer 2022, Lewis shared lots of photos of a very sunny holiday to Greece. We’re very jealous!
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale this year?
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.
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