In the October 20 episode of Emmerdale, Kev Barton (Chris Coghill) stepped in to support Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) as she continued to grieve the sudden death of her husband Jimmy King (Nick Miles).
Earlier this year, Jimmy was driving on a country road when he swerved to avoid hitting a distracted Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson). The crash sent his car into the wedding marquee of Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) and Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley). Nicola arrived at the scene and said a heartbreaking goodbye to Jimmy, who did not survive his injuries. Dawn also died in hospital, with Joe by her side.
Nicola attended Jimmy's funeral a few weeks later and is now trying to live with her grief, a difficult and overwhelming journey.
Kev's intervention in the café
In today's episode, Kev arrived at the café and found Nicola struggling. He cleared the room and made her a special coffee with sherbet mixed in. Kev learned that Nicola was torn over whether to help Tom King (James Chase) once he is released from prison early after being convicted for abusing Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).
Nicola worried that Tom might turn to her for support, but she could not decide if Jimmy would have given his nephew a second chance. Consumed by grief, she wished Jimmy were there to guide her, fearing she might make the wrong decision and let him down.
Reassurance and a promise
Kev recognised that Nicola's panic about Tom stemmed from Tom being Jimmy's blood relative. He reassured her that turning her back on Tom would not mean she had turned her back on Jimmy. The words helped Nicola feel better, as she realised her grief had caused her to spiral.
Kev made Nicola promise to text him if she ever felt that way again, and he would be there. Nicola still has a long road ahead adjusting to life without Jimmy, but her conversation with Kev reminded her she does not have to face it alone.
