Emmerdale comp image: Lewis Cope and Nicky Miligan (Credit: SplashNews.com/ITV/Comp ED!)
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Emmerdale: Real life of Nicky actor Lewis Cope – from actress girlfriend to David Beckham connection

Thankfully Lewis' life is far more settled than Nicky's!

Nicky in Emmerdale will be left fighting for his life on Thursday May 9 after a car accident. As it’s unknown whether he’ll pull through, the driver, Ethan Anderson, fled the scene.

So it seems like there’s drama aplenty in the coming weeks for actor Lewis Cope, who plays Nicky.

In real life, thankfully, Lewis 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 smiling in Emmerdale
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 had no idea that behind the scenes this is all a big sham. Nicky was conning her.

It was revealed last year that Nicky was secretly the son of Caleb Miligan, who is the secret son of Frank Tate. They were working together to bring down Kim Tate and claim Home Farm. Nicky’s part was to get Gabby’s shares for himself.

However, as if that wasn’t enough, it was then revealed Nicky is attracted to men. Nicky eventually couldn’t go through with the wedding and confessed the truth to Gabby. Caleb was then exposed and Nicky was so hurt he ended up pushing his dad off a cliff!

Caleb survived, father and son reconciled and moved to the village together. Wife and mother Ruby has now joined them, Nicky is happily settled with Suni Sharma, and is running a business with his dad.

But this week it all kicked off when Nicky wanted a more equal partnership and Caleb laughed. Nicky gets drunk then tries to get behind the wheel, but Ethan stops him.

However Ethan has also been drinking and crashes the car. Nicky is left by the side of the road unconscious, while Ethan runs away from the scene. Will Nicky survive?

Nicky’s family life is complicated! (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 29 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 nieces and nephews! Phew.

He revealed to The Mirror last year: “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 being interviewed smiles in a suit
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.”

Lewis Cope and girlfriend Rachel Lopez on the red carpet smiling
Lewis and Rachel are long-term partners (Credit: Brett D.Cove/SplashNews.com)

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 in 2024?

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Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour episode on Thursdays.

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Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)