Nicola Wheeler, known to Emmerdale viewers as Nicola King, has been part of the ITV soap since 2001. Away from the village, her life is markedly different from her on-screen alter-ego, and she has remained notably private about her personal affairs.
Major surgery and return to filming
In 2022, Nicola took time off from filming Emmerdale due to health reasons. Appearing on This Morning, she revealed that she had undergone a hip replacement. Before her hospital stay, Emmerdale bosses informed her that she would need to film harrowing scenes as part of a gang attack storyline upon her return.
"They said 'What we are going to do is we are going to bring you back and beat you up, is that okay?'," Nicola joked. "I said 'Fine, but I can't throw myself on the floor', so the stunt double did anything truly physical just because obviously I was still healing."
Speaking to The Sun, she admitted to being scared of filming a car scene after her operation. "Bear in mind, I had only just had my hip replaced! I was fully healed, don't worry, they didn't drag me in early," she said. "I probably was miles away [from Matthew Wolfenden], but I kept thinking, 'What if my foot slips, what if I do actually hit the back of his car?' Luckily, it all went smoothly and nobody was hurt."
Earlier role in Coronation Street
Before Emmerdale, Nicola appeared in Coronation Street in 1999 as Melanie Tindel. Melanie was introduced as an old school friend of Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw) and served as a bridesmaid at her wedding to Ashley (Steven Arnold). She later had a month-long affair with Tom Ferguson (Tom Wisdom) until Tom ended things.
Nicola joined Emmerdale as Nicola Blackstock in 2001, serving for five years before returning in 2007, making her one of the soap's longest-standing actors.
Private marriage and family life
Nicola remains very private off-camera, and little is known about her marriage to a man named Matt. Matt is not seen attending events with his wife, and details about how the couple met or married are not public.
The couple announced they were expecting their first child in 2015, and Nicola took six months of maternity leave from the show. She has spoken briefly about her partner, praising Matt regarding childcare: "I am really lucky that me and my partner are sharing the childcare."
"But we have said that the hardest work is looking after the kid all day," the actress said in an interview with OK! Magazine when her son was little. Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
