Emmerdale star Nick Miles has broken his silence on Jimmy King's dramatic exit after 22 years, revealing the character's death could have happened two decades earlier. The actor, who first appeared as Jimmy on February 19, 2004, as part of the newly introduced King family, was the last original King standing before his shock death aired on Thursday, August 27.
In the episode, viewers saw the aftermath of Jimmy violently crashing through the wedding marquee of Joe Tate and Dawn Taylor. Jimmy was driving to set up a surprise picnic for his wife, Nicola, whom he married in 2010, when he lost control of his vehicle. Nicola found him and, realising her husband was stuck, sat with him as he told her he had planned for them to renew their wedding vows.
Heartbreaking final scenes
A heartbreaking dream sequence showed what could have been, before Jimmy tragically died from his injuries. With her husband gone, Nicola managed to escape the marquee alongside a pregnant Dawn, but Joe was trapped under fallen debris. As Graham Foster rushed to save him, an explosion set off in the marquee, leaving Joe for dead.
Speaking about his exit for the first time in an interview with the Metro, Nick said: "I had about three months' notice that Jimmy would be leaving. But for about three months before, I was having weird nightmares about Jimmy's death. I've had typical actor dreams about not knowing my lines or being in the wrong scenes before, but I've not had nightmares about death! The one that kept recurring was being stabbed in the chest by Nicola. It was very strange."
Exit nearly came much earlier
Despite his dreams, when Nick was told by the producers in June that Jimmy would perish in the Tate wedding week drama, he said he was "shocked" but thought back to the nightmares. "I was like, 'OK, that's fine, I get it.' I was very philosophical," Nick added.
He also revealed his exit could have come just a couple of years after his debut. "I took time off to go and do a play in Edinburgh," he explained, referencing his stint in Meeting Joe Strummer back in 2006. "It was the time of the collapse of the Kings' house. The writers decided it would be better if Jimmy was killed."
Nick said he did not find out until about three years later, but the producer told him she had to jump up and down, kicking and screaming. She said: "I promised him he could come back. I'm not gonna kill him off while he's away," so that was close.
