Nick Cotton

Nick Cotton
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	John Altman
Duration	1985–1991, 1993, 1998, 2000–2001, 2008–2009, 2014–2015
First appearance	Episode 1 "Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Last appearance	Episode 5017/5018 "Look Back in Anger" 19 February 2015 (2015-02-19)
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Julia Smith and Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985–1988) Michael Ferguson (1990– 1991) Leonard Lewis (1993) Mike Hudson (1998) John Yorke (2000) Diederick Santer (2008) Dominic Treadwell-Collins (2014)
Book appearances	The Baffled Heart An Eye for Business
Spin-off appearances	" Bo Selecta (2004)
In-universe information Other names Nasty Nick Occupation Handyman Drug dealer Waiter Plumber Con artist Career criminal Father Rose Cotton

Nicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia Smith demanding he was written out after he opposed a decision to make his character gay.^[1] After Smith's departure, the character made numerous brief or more protracted stints until his onscreen death in February 2015, which was written to coincide with the 30th anniversary of EastEnders.

Nick Cotton was notably responsible for the death of

Nick's primary function was as an antagonist, a drug-user and a murderer. He was conceived by the show's creators,

Nick is used as an "out and out villain". It was suggested by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins that unlike other soap characters who behaved badly and required a more nuanced characterisation and redemption, it was possible to use Nick as a complete "bad guy".^[2] A television critic for The Guardian suggested that, for this reason, the character's dastardly motives were rarely questioned by viewers, as his primary function is that of "an agent of chaos". It was also suggested that Nick's appearances on the show needed to be brief because the level of malevolence he portrays could not be sustained in a character over longer periods.^[3]

Nick's most prominent relationship is with his mother Dot Cotton (June Brown). It is portrayed as complex, dysfunctional and somewhat cyclical, with Nick perpetually entering his mother's life, her forgiving him for past misdemeanours (including an attempt to kill her to steal her bingo winnings), then being let down when Nick's true intentions are revealed, often ending in his banishment, albeit temporarily, before the cycle repeats. Nick's eventual demise in 2015 pays homage to this relationship, with Dot – finally realising the extent of Nick's villainous behaviour and accepting his inability to change – ultimately deciding to allow Nick to die, rather than seeking medical assistance after he has a fatal reaction to heroin, her motive being to let Jesus decide whether Nick should live or die.

Creation

Nick Cotton was the twenty-fourth character invented by the creators of EastEnders,

The debut episode of EastEnders began with the discovery of elderly resident

In 1988, Nick ends up doing prison time for drug offences in Dickens Hill Prison where, coincidentally, Den is being held for arson. It is during this period that the mystery of Reg's murder is finally solved when Nick confessed to Den that he had been responsible.^[8] In 1989, Dot learns, through off-screen visits to Nick, that he has married a woman called Hazel (Virginia Fiol), and has a young daughter; Nick had avoided telling her beforehand due to his and Dot's strained relationship. Hazel tracked Dot down in May 1989 and visited her with the child, Dorothy Nicola; Dot was so pleased they visited that she pulled out of attending a Brownie march with Mo Butcher (Edna Doré) and Marge Green (Pat Coombs). This was later revealed to be a lie, and the baby turned out to be Hazel's niece.

Although Nick was only a semi-regular character, his intermittent appearances were always scripted to make a big impact on the show, as well as all the characters involved in his storylines. He reappeared and left several times during the first few years of the show, causing maximum havoc every time, and it wasn't long before the tabloids had begun to brand the character "Nasty Nick".^[4] Altman has commented: "I think they keep bringing Nick back because he's one of the characters on British TV that people just love to hate".^[7] This dislike of the character by the public was shared by the fictional residents of Walford, with Altman explaining: "Every time he comes back he gets shunned by one and all. It's like being the bad cowboy come riding into town - everybody puts down the shutters and locks up the bar."^[7]

The character's appearance was tailored to suit this unlikable, "nasty" image, with EastEnders series consultant Simon Ashdown commenting; "When he comes on, you know this guy is bad. He's got the black hair and the scowl and the leather jacket. He is like that, he is a

One of Nick's most notable returns to the series occurred in 1990. Nick returned to his mother's life with the claim that he was a born-again Christian, which happened to coincide with her £10,000 win on the bingo. EastEnders writer Sarah Phelps explained: "For Dot, the idea that Jesus had finally spoken to Nick, that was all her Christmases coming at once! Nick knew that. It was sort of obvious that Nick could be saying 'Jesus walks with me' and then just go out and kick somebody or nick their wallet."[7] With the help of a fake priest, Nick managed to convince his mother of his newfound faith and then began a slow campaign to control her eating habits and poison her in order to claim her money. The episode which culminated the storyline, written by P.J. Hammond, was set solely in Dot's house and featured an unusually small cast composed of Nick, Dot, Charlie, Ethel and Alistair, the fake priest. At the last moment, in what Altman has called the "one time we saw a glimmer of Nick's good side",^[7] Nick backed out of his plan and stopped Dot from eating the poisoned meal he had intended to kill her with. Once again, Dot was left alone, broken-hearted at what her own son had been prepared to do to her.^[8]

Nick was not away from Walford for long. In 1991, he returned with a heroin addiction but Dot initially shunned him and ignored his pleas for help. It was only after discovering Charlie had died that Nick was her only family left and was determined to reform him. Discussing the storyline, Altman has said: "I found the heroin addiction quite exhausting actually, because I grew a really thick beard and my hair was always really filthy. When I was shooting those scenes I met with a guy who was an addict, and he told me things that you go through, like you can't relax when you're trying to come off it. You can't sleep so you drink loads of alcohol to try and kill the pain. The clock barely seems to move. For me as an actor, they really let me go as far as I could on that. We had letters as well from people saying how it's put them off heroin for life, so I guess we did a good job."

Joe Wallace eventually came forward, saying he saw Nick out on the square on the night of Eddie's murder, having escaped his room and climbed down a drain pipe. Nick confesses to Dot that he was responsible but insists that it was an accident. Nick is subsequently arrested and charged with Eddie's murder and he stands trial in January 1993. A week's worth of episodes were devoted to the trial, and were all written by Tony Jordan. To present the story of Nick's trial, the programme-makers themselves had to review the evidence and watch the episodes leading up to the death of Eddie. In the end, although it was clear that Nick was responsible for stabbing Eddie, it was not clear that it was murder, and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.^[8] Altman summarised: "Through having a really good defence and lying his head off once again, he got away with murder".^[7]

Nick was written out of the show, along with Dot, when

After three months away, he returned in May 2001; he was able to walk, but still needed crutches. This comeback was going to be even shorter than his previous one, and followed by a much longer absence from the show. Determined to continue the feud with Mark, Nick starts making threats to Mark's pregnant girlfriend Lisa and soon causes the death of Ashley after sabotaging the brakes on Mark's motorbike, only for Ashley to steal and crash it. Following Ashley's death, Dot overhears an argument between Nick and Mark and realises that Nick had tampered with the brakes on Mark's motorbike. After Ashley's funeral, Dot banishes Nick from her life and tells him to leave and never return, as she would never be able to forgive him.

In September 2004, Dot wrote a card to Nick letting him know that she had cancer on the day she was going to have her cancer operation at the hospital, the reason why Dot needed to reach out to him in a card, dispite that Dot disowned him three years previous due to the fall out of his son Ashley's death, and also dispite of everything that happened between them both, it was because at a time like this, there were things that Dot wanted Nick to know, just incase if her cancer operation went wrong, Dot was letting Nick know that she was thinking of him, and didn't mean anything by not telling him about her cancer treatment before hand, which this eventually ended up leading up to Nick getting back in contact with Dot two years later, when he had his own cancer in 2006.

However, Santer explained: "There will always be a way back to Dot for Nick",^[7] a position supported by EastEnders writer James Payne, who stated: "[Dot] believes, I think, deep down, that he has the potential for change, that he can be a good boy. I think that she'll keep wishing that."^[7] The first steps towards reconciliation were made in 2006 when Jim Branning received a phone call from Nick who was in a prison hospital with cancer. Jim and his grandson, Bradley initially kept this a secret from Dot, but Bradley told his girlfriend, Stacey who let it slip to Dot. Dot went to visit Nick, but when he was cleared of his cancer, he refused to let Dot see him.

"Nick Cotton is an EastEnders legend. His complex relationship with Dot, his criminal tendencies, and his addiction to heroin, violence, and everything else that's bad have made him one of the show's best-remembered and best-loved villains. We're very excited that he - and the talented John Altman who plays him - will be returning to the Square."

—Executive producer Diederick Santer on Nick's 2008 return to EastEnders.^[10]

On 2 October 2008 it was reported that Nick would return to EastEnders on Christmas Day that year after more than seven years away. Executive producer Diederick Santer spoke of his excitement at Nick's return, hailing the character as an "EastEnders legend" and "one of the show's best-remembered and best-loved villains".

Sandy Gibson while living in a squat, and that she was an alcoholic who had recently died, leaving him with custody of Dotty. Altman explained: "Nick needed something, because I think if he didn't have little Dotty, for him to walk through that door, she would just have treated him as a complete outcast."^[7] The actor described other changes to his character since his last appearance, detailing how he had become a plumber, begun dressing more smartly, stopped gelling his hair back and no longer wore an earring.^[7]

Although suspicious to begin with, Dot accepted them both into her home, believing that Nick truly had changed this time. Asked whether Nick really was a reformed character, Altman remained ambiguous: "Nick's back, he's got a cute little daughter. He's become a plumber, he's a changed man. ...Or is he?"[7] As the storyline progressed, Nick's true agenda was revealed when he blackmailed his mother into giving him money for custody of Dotty. In a further plot twist, it was revealed to the audience in 2009, that Dotty (real name Kirsty) was colluding with her father all along. In the storyline, Dotty suggested killing Dot for her life assurance policy. Nick leaves following this, allowing Dotty to work on Dot. He returns three months later, whereupon they begin their plan to convince Dot and her friends that she is suffering with dementia, Nick's aim being to kill Dot and blame her death on her deteriorating mental state.^[11]

During Nick's brief stay in the square, he overheard Billy Mitchell telling Dot how he let Jase Dyer die and Nick blackmailed Billy by demanding regular payments or he would tell Jase's son Jay what Billy did. When Billy's cousin, Phil, found out about this, he led Nick into the barrel store of The Queen Vic, where he beats him up and ties him to a chair. Phil gave Billy the opportunity to scare Nick off and end this, however, Billy let him go and told Jay the truth himself. The plot with his own daughter to kill his beloved mother climaxes on-screen in June 2009: Nick's plan goes awry after Dotty has a change of heart and ultimately rescues her grandmother from being poisoned, instead drugging Nick. This leads to a series of events whereby Nick, in a bid to escape once his plan has been exposed, holds various members of the community hostage in the café and an accidental fire is started after Heather Trott pushes Nick into the chip pan. The hostages manage to escape due to a fight between Nick and Ryan Malloy, who was one of the hostages.^[12] This results in an explosion at the café with Nick and Bradley Branning inside. The storyline marked Altman's departure from the show once again. His departing episode was scripted as a cliffhanger, as it was not revealed whether Nick had survived the explosion at the end of the episode.^[13] However, in the following episode, on 4 June 2009, Nick is shown to survive the explosion and Bradley is hospitalised with injuries to his eye. Nick departs after once again being disowned by Dot. Dotty is left in Dot's care despite Nick explaining to his mother that Dotty is evil.

In January 2014, Dot's lodger

Les Coker prevent Dot from looking in the coffin. Dot is suspicious and invites Yvonne to tell the truth and she assures Dot that Charlie is her grandson. A few weeks later, Carol Jackson asks Charlie for advice, when he leaves his phone at her house, she answers a call and discovers that Nick is still alive. Following this, it is revealed that Charlie has been impersonating a police officer

and is actually a caretaker at a care home where Yvonne works. Charlie leaves work to find his car windows have been smashed, with a message from Nick, confirming he'd done it.

"After a five year break, I'm very pleased and much looking forward to returning to EastEnders. With the promise of some hard-hitting and gritty storylines, I'm sure the residents of Albert Square will be none too pleased to see Nick Cotton back on the streets of Walford. I'm also looking forward to working alongside Declan Bennett and Pauline McLynn and of course, being reunited and working once again with my 'dear old Ma,' the wonderful June Brown."

–John Altman on Nick's 2014 return to EastEnders.[14]

In October 2014, Nick re-appears in Albert Square, seven months after his faked death. Executive Producer Dominic Treadwell Collins promised to deliver the Ultimate Nasty Nick storyline and it would be the Nick story to end all Nick stories. Charlie and his fiancé

Emma Summerhayes, while Ronnie is left in a coma. Yvonne discovers that Nick cut the brakes of the car but he convinces her to frame Phil by planting the oily rag in his coat pocket. Yvonne tells Charlie what Nick has done but he does not believe her until he catches Nick with some of the money Ronnie used to bribe him. Then Nick implicates Yvonne in Ronnie's accident so Charlie tells them both to leave. Dot hides Nick in the derelict house next door and obtains heroin for Nick. Dot's lodger Fatboy

finds out and urges her to stop so when she sees Nick she urges him to confess to the police about framing Phil for Ronnie's sake but he says he does not care about Ronnie, telling her he hopes she rots. Later, Dot finds Nick unconscious but he regains consciousness briefly and reveals to Dot that he was responsible for Reg Cox's death in 1985. Dot decides not to call an ambulance and instead lets fate decide if Nick should survive. Dot accepts that she is to blame for Nick becoming a monster as she saw what he was turning into but turned a blind eye to it in the vain hope he'd change. In his final moments, Nick sincerely apologises for everything he put Dot through and asks for forgiveness. Dot refuses and tells him to ask Jesus instead, seconds before Nick dies in her arms, in the same location that Reg was discovered thirty years prior. Dot confesses to letting Nick die to Charlie who plans to get rid of Nick's body with Les Coker's help to save Dot from going to prison.

In the live episode aired on 19 February 2015 to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the show, the very first scene from the show's first episode was recreated. Stacey, Martin and

Matthew

in attendance.

In 2021, nearly eight years after Nick's death, it is revealed that Dotty (

Tom Cotton (Brian Conley

). However, in 2022, it is revealed that this is a lie and that Nick is indeed Dotty's father.

Altman revealed that producers were told to 'write him out' of the show after he opposed a decision to make his character gay.[1]

Reception

Nick Cotton has become one of EastEnders' most renowned villains. His 'nastiness' was voted the 25th "Greatest Soap Moment" in a

PC Plum and making Josie jump. I also fear for the safety of Archie, the chubby, cheerful posh boy who wears a pink kilt and lives alone in a big pink castle. With Nick in town, he doesn't stand a chance."^[17]

John Altman was nominated for 'Villain of the Year' at The British Soap Awards 2015, but lost out to Hollyoaks star, Jeremy Sheffield.^[18][19]

See also

• List of soap opera villains

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} John Altman, AKA Eastender's Nasty Nick: It's almost like the Taliban. You can't say what you like., GB News, Sep 13, 2021
2. ^ Brown, David (2 March 2014). "EastEnders spoilers: Dot told that son Nick Cotton has died". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
3. ^ Heritage, Stuart (21 October 2014). "Nick Cotton returns to EastEnders: 'He's the Freddy Krueger of soaps'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
4. ^ ^{a b} Smith & Holland 1987
5. ^ ^{a b} Smith & Holland 1987, p. 90
6. ISSN 0261-3077
   . Retrieved 29 December 2016.
7. ^
   BBC1
   .
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Brake 1995
9. ^ "DOT SQUARES UP TO A NEW START". The Mirror. 28 April 1997. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Green, Kris (2 October 2008). "Nick Cotton returns to 'EastEnders'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
11. ^ "Eastenders: The Week Ahead: Nasty Nick's plan to kill Dot Cotton". Sunday Mercury. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
12. ^ Green, Kris (25 May 2009). "The café explodes". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
13. ^ "John Altman on Nick's dramatic exit!". What's on TV. 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
14. ^ "Nick Cotton is on his way back to Walford!". 28 July 2014.
15. ^ "Television polls", Custard.tv. URL last accessed on 2006-10-26.
16. ^ Brooker, Charlie (22 November 2000). "No pain, no gain". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
17. Times Newspapers
    . Retrieved 16 August 2019.
18. ^ Awards, British Soap. "Panel Nominations - British Soap Awards". British Soap Awards. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
19. ^ Awards, British Soap. "Winners - British Soap Awards". British Soap Awards. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

Bibliography

• ISBN 978-0-563-20601-9
  .
• ISBN 978-0-563-37057-4
  .

External links

• Nick Cotton at BBC Online
• Walford Gazette, John Altman Interview