Nick Cotton
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| EastEnders character | |
|---|---|
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| Nick Cotton | |
| Portrayed by | John Altman |
| Duration | 1985–1993, 1998, 2000–2001 |
| First appearance | 19 February 1985 |
| Last appearance | 21 June 2001 |
| Marital status | Divorced |
| Occupation | Con man |
| Family | Dot, Ashley, Charlie |
Nicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton (also known as Nasty Nick) is a fictional character in the popular British soap opera EastEnders and one of the soap's original and famous 'bad boys'. He has been played by John Altman on and off since appearing in the first episode in 1985.
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[edit] Character creation and development
Nick Cotton was the twenty-fourth character invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. Nick was not part of Holland and Smith's original vision for EastEnders, and his creation came about as an afterthought. During the first writers meeting, where the writers were introduced to the intended characters and early scripts, each independently wanted to know which character had killed Reg Cox. The first episodes were to include the death of an old man (Reg) who had been brutally attacked in his home, and left to die. However, Holland and Smith had never intended for the murderer to be unveiled. They had no idea who had killed Reg Cox, and they had felt that "the who" was not important. The fact that he was dead following an attack was the important issue, and Reg's murder was not intended to be solved, it was only there to tell the audience, from the outset, that Walford was a rough and tough place. The writers opposed this. They accused Holland of throwing away a great opportunity and suggested that a murder hunt would provide an array dramatic possibilities that would captivate the audience. After deciding that all of the twenty-three original characters were incapable of commiting the crime, Holland decided to invent an entirely new character and Nick Cotton was born.[1]
Nick's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story.
- "His image is exclusively macho. Vanishes for weeks on end. Mum doesn't ask questions...Unlike Den, Nick is a real crook. Worms his way into people's confidentiality and homes. From then on, lives on his wits. Waiting for the moment to strike; to nick the cash and disappear...Usually chooses his victims who, for one reason or another, are frightened to report him...Nick's a heroin addict." (page 90)[1]
As Nick Cotton was only intended to be a semi-regular character, Julia Smith was not involved in his casting and the actor John Altman was chosen by the directors.
As originally mentioned, the birth of EastEnders coincided with the death of Reg Cox at the hands of Nick. Holland and Smith wanted to kick off the series with a bang, and the Reg Cox storyline was a good starting point, allowing various members of the community to be involved with or comment on the circumstances of the old man's murder. After a few weeks of the police investigation, prime suspect Nick Cotton left the Square and in April it was reported that he had been arrested. After Nick's mother Dot was introduced to the cast in July, she informed the audience that Nick had managed to get off on probation, and later in the year he returned to Albert Square. The mystery of Reg's murder was not finally solved until four years later when Nick confessed to Den Watts in prison that he had been responsible.[2]
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 began to brand the character "Nasty Nick".[1]
One of Nick's most notable returns and arguably his most dastardly deed to date 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 £1000 win on the bingo. With the help of his bogus priest Alistair, Nick managed to convince his mother of his new found faith and then began a slow campaign to control her eating habits and poison her in order to claim her money. At first it was not clear to the audience whether Nick had reformed or not, but as the weeks passed it became obvious that he did intend to kill his mother, as he was shown practising a fake suicide note in Dot's handwriting; a foil to cover the intended murder. The arrival of Nick's father Charlie and the interference of Ethel Skinner complicated matters for Nick, but he pressed on whilst Dot remained blithely and perhaps purposefully ignorant to his wrong-doing. The episode where the audience discovered Nick's intentions featured an unusually small cast (written by P.J. Hammond, set in Dot's house and featuring Nick, Dot, Charlie, Ethel and Alistair). Until this moment the programme had been ambiguous as to Nick's sincerity. At the last moment, however, Dot seemed to realise what was happening and agreed to eat the special meal Nick had prepared for her. Whether Nick felt guilty or just couldn't go through with his plan once Dot knew what was happening was never stated, but he stopped her eating the meal and left. Once again Dot was left alone, broken-hearted at what her own son had been prepared to do to her.[2]
Nick's relationship with his mother, Dot, has been a recurring storyline throughout EastEnders history. The two characters are completely polarised, one being a staunch Christian and moralist and the other, arguably, rotten to the core. Despite Nick's despicable behaviour Dot strives to find the good in her son, and has made continuous attempts at reforming him. 1991 saw another such attempt when Nick returned once again to Walford, this time as a fully-fledged heroin addict. Dot tried to curtail his addiction by boarding him up in his room and forcing him to break the habit the hard way - cold turkey. His resulting paranoia and cravings led him to escape from his room for a fateful meeting with landlord Eddie Royle, in what was to be one of EastEnders most notable murder storylines to date. The episode where Eddie was murdered was the big autumn launch episode for 1991. Written by Tony McHale, it finished with a dramatic, if slightly misleading cliffhanger featuring Clyde Tavernier in the gardens standing over Eddie's body and holding a knife. Originally the plan had been for the audience to know from the outset that Nick was responsible, but this was changed to exploit the whodunnit angle. A witness eventually came forward implicating Nick and he stood trial in January 1993. A weeks worth of episodes were devoted to the trial, and were all written by Tony Jordan. The trial was written to dramatize the legal process, the audience all knew Nick was guilty, but could murder be proved in a court of law? 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, meaning Nick had gotten away with murder twice.[2]
Nick has made several subsequent returns to the show since this time. In 2000 a special 'soap-bubble' entitled The Return of Nick Cotton aired. The episode centred around Nick's release from prison, his reconciliation with his son, and even featured the late Christopher Hancock who played Nick's father Charlie, making a brief cameo appearance as a ghost almost a decade after his character was last seen on-screen. The episode paved the way for Nick's subsequent return to Walford, where he reignited an old feud with Mark Fowler, had a spell in a wheel-chair and indirectly caused the death of his own son, Ashley. Nick last appeared on-screen in 2001.
Nick Cotton has become one of EastEnders most renown villains. His 'nastiness' was voted the 25th Greatest Soap Moment in a channel five poll in 2004, and he's also been voted the 5th most villainous television character in a channel 4 poll.[3]
Below is an outline of Nick's storylines during his time in EastEnders.
[edit] Overview
Nick is the son of Charlie and Dot Cotton, he was briefly married to Zoe Cotton and they had a son called Ashley who was born in 1984 but did not appear until 1993. He is famously known for his memorable catchphrase, "Hello Ma", which he uses every time he unexpectedly returns on Dot's doorstep or sneaks up on her.
Nick appeared in the first episode of EastEnders in February 1985. In that episode he got into a fight with Ali Osman in the Queen Vic pub after Turkish Ali lost his temper with Nick, who was blaming immigrants for destroying the community spirit around Walford. Then famously Den Watts threw him out of the Vic by jumping over the Queen Vic bar. Nick's response to this was "Stuff your poxy boozer" and a fist through the Queen Vic door, breaking the glass. From first impressions of the character it was obvious he was a nasty piece of work, and he continued to prove he was rotten to the core. Over the years Nick came and went from the square – usually going to prison, being thrown out by Dot or just disappearing again until his next unexpected return.
He has constantly made his mother Dot's life a misery by cheating her out of her money, getting involved in drugs, being a racist bully, and committing a number of robberies and at least two murders on the square (without being convicted of either). Some of the people's lives he has ruined include Mark Fowler who he led astray by giving him drugs and persuading him to join a racist organisation, trying to lead single mother Mary Smith into prostitution and blackmailing Kathy Beale when he found out she had a secret daughter Donna Ludlow from when she was raped at a young age. He had never met his long absent father Charlie but when Charlie turned up in 1987 he finally met Nick but they had never got as chance for a proper father and son relationship. Even after Charlie had died in a lorry accident off-screen in 1991, Nick's crimes continued to get worse and worse as years went by.
[edit] Storylines
[edit] Reg Cox's murder
Reg Cox was the elderly Albert Square resident found dead by Den and Arthur in his house at the start of the very first episode and it was later revealed that he had been beaten up by Nick who was trying to rob his house. Nick first told Den Watts he had killed Reg while he was in prison in 1988. The police were unable to charge Nick with Reg's murder because there was not enough evidence and nothing else was ever said about the matter.
At the end of the first episode, Nick taunted Ali Osman about being Turkish and they began to fight in the Queen Vic. Den Watts and Pete Beale had to throw them out of the pub, only for Nick to plough his fist through the window and shout: 'Stuff your poxy boozer'.
[edit] Nick and Charlie
Because Charlie had left Dot and Nick while Nick was still a child, Nick never got to know his father because he had been absent for Nick's entire childhood and teenage years. They did finally meet in October 1987 when both turned up at Dot's house coincidentally at the same time. They never got on and both tried to get rid of each other from Walford. Nick confided in Charlie that he had done a few house burglaries and cheated his friends out of their share of the money. Charlie used Nick's secret to drive him out of Walford. When one of Nick's old friends Graham Clark turned up and asked about Nick, Charlie happily told him Nick's whereabouts. Nick was forced to flee Walford in November 1987 when Graham revealed he would hand him over to the thugs he robbed from if he doesn't leave straightaway. Charlie proved he never did care for his son even after meeting all these years later.
[edit] Drug addiction
Nick did several stints in prison and most of these spells behind bars were for drug related offences, as Nick was a heroin addict. At one time Nick had wanted money for drugs and tried to poison Dot in 1990 after she won a vast amount of money playing bingo, but he changed his mind at the last minute and went out to buy fish and chips instead. When his long absent father Charlie turned up to con Dot as well he discovered Nick was almost going to kill Dot. He told Dot the truth but Dot didn't believe him and told him to leave. In 1991 his drug addiction got out of control and Dot and Pete Beale were forced to lock him up in his bedroom to make him better. He attempted to escape from the room but Pete put up bars against the door to stop him from escaping. Nick's health had deteriorated and he had grown a beard looking more grizzly than ever.
[edit] Eddie Royle's murder
In September 1991, Nick escaped from his room and stabbed Queen Vic landlord Eddie Royle to death after a robbery attempt. Grant Mitchell was the main suspect of Eddie's murder because he had given him a beating in the past for making a pass at Sharon. Clyde Tavernier was also a suspect because he had discovered Eddie's body and held the knife left by Eddie's body. Nick eventually confessed to the murder and was arrested awaiting trial for over a year. In January 1993 at Nick's trial the jury gave a shocking verdict and found him Not Guilty and he moved away from Walford after the trial ended.
[edit] Zoe and Ashley
In July of 1993 Nick returned with his secret wife Zoe whom he had never spoken of before and introduced Dot to Nick's young son Ashley. Dot wasn't convinced that Zoe was Nick's wife at first because Nick had previously pretended he had a pregnant girlfriend called Hazel to con her years earlier. Dot did become convinced eventually. She grew close to Ashley and Dot was then convinced by Zoe to live away from the square with her, Nick and Ashley and move to Gravesend. She was reluctant at first but knowing how much Ashley wanted her to come Dot left the square and wasn't seen again for four years. She returned in 1997 revealing Nick had been arrested yet again off-screen while Zoe and Ashley moved away to France having got sick of his criminal acts. Dot realised living with Nick away from Walford was a mistake as he could never change. As long as Nick was in prison Dot was happy.
[edit] AIDS
In April of 1998, Nick made a shock return to Walford having escaped from prison. He first turned up at Dot's doorstep but was stopped by Dot's friend Nigel Bates who prevented him from entering Dot's house. Nick threatened Nigel and told him he had better watch out as he would return. Over the following week Nick secretly broke into Dot's house and tried searching for some money but couldn't find any. Eventually he sneaked up on Dot and desperate for cash he tried to cheat Dot out of her money once more by telling her he had AIDS. He said it was caused by his drug addiction and he needed money for his medication and to travel to France where Zoe and Ashley were living to see them before he dies. He initially told her he was planning on doing a heist to finance his trip to France but Dot talked him out of doing it. He said she would never hear from him again and all he needs is money. Dot believed his story and tried to arrange money for Nick. But soon she discovered he had been lying about his illness all along, so she told the police and he was rearrested and sent back to prison.
[edit] Return from prison
In October 2000 a special spin-off episode titled The Return of Nick Cotton aired which was a lead-up to Nick's return to Walford a month later. Nick came out of prison living in a squat a few months after his release. He had a dream where his dead father, Charlie, appeared. He was then told by some people living in the squat with him that seeing your own dead relatives in your dreams was a bad Karma but Nick wasn't worried. He then decided to meet up with his son Ashley and ex-wife Zoe in France after many years and soon some mean-looking thugs were on his trail, presumably for reasons related to Nick's dodgy deals in the past. He met up with Ashley and Zoe and the thugs followed him. To escape them Ashley and Nick got into a stolen convertible car and drove off. Zoe was very reluctant in letting Ashley go with Nick because he was a bad influence. Then just before the end of the episode Nick and Ashley were discussing where to go and Nick predictably said "Let's go visit Ma." So they drove off on their way back to Walford.
[edit] Feud with Mark Fowler
In November 2000, Nick returned to Walford with his son Ashley and they moved in with Dot. He told Dot he has changed his drug habit and is completely reformed from his drug addiction. This time Dot believed him once again and thought him genuinely reformed. Soon after however his long-running feud with neighbour Mark Fowler continued when Nick started supplying Mark's 15-year-old brother Martin with drugs, and Martin ended up needing hospital treatment.
Mark got his revenge by spiking Nick's drink in the Queen Vic and luring him onto a nearby bridge. Nick fell off the bridge and was badly injured. He was diagnosed with a broken back and on regaining conscious told Dot that he had been pushed by Mark, but the police did not press charges. Nick returned home for a while and was still in a wheelchair more than a month later when he moved into a spinal unit to continue his recovery. He returned home from the spinal unit on crutches in May, and had an argument with Mark Fowler's pregnant girlfriend Lisa in the Square late at night. But Mark approached on his motorbike and almost ran over Nick, who threatened to kill him. Nick then cut the brakes on Mark's motorbike and was determined that Mark would crash the bike and die.
[edit] Ashley's death
On a summer evening in June 2001, Nick's son Ashley had an argument with Mark Fowler in the Queen Vic and Ashley stole Mark's motorbike in a fit of temper. Nick saw what was going on and shouted for Ashley to stop, but Ashley continued to race on the bike which was running out of brake fluid. Dot and Pauline Fowler also shouted for Ashley to stop, but he then came face-to-face with a pedestrian who he swerved to avoid. The bike flipped over the pavement and Ashley was sent flying into the Laundrette. He died instantly and Dot later overheard an argument between Nick and Mark in which Nick said "It should be you that's getting buried". After the funeral Dot threw Nick out telling him never to return again as she would never forgive him for causing Ashley's death. Nick left Walford in a taxi and nothing was heard of him for the next five years.
[edit] Cancer
On 16 May 2006, Jim Branning received a phone call from Nick, who was in a prison hospital with cancer. Jim would not allow him to speak to Dot. His grandson Bradley heard the conversation and Jim told him about Nick calling but told him to keep it secret from Dot. Bradley later told his girlfriend Stacey Slater about Nick and Stacey accidentally let slip to Dot about Nick's illness. She was very upset that Jim did not tell her. Dot then decided to visit Nick in hospital, fearing that he would soon die. Nick went on to make a full recovery and Dot returned to the Square within weeks.
[edit] Family
- Father: Charlie Cotton (deceased)
- Mother: Dot Branning
- Son: Ashley Cotton (deceased)
- Grandfather: Bob Colwell (deceased)
- Grandmother: Martha Colwell (deceased)
- Uncles: Gerry Colwell, Tim Colwell
- Aunt: Rose Colwell
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Smith, Julia; Holland, Tony (1987). EastEnders - The Inside Story. Book Club Associates. ISBN 0-563-20601-2.
- ^ a b c Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
- ^ "Television polls", Custard.tv. URL last accessed on 2006-10-26.
[edit] External links
