COMING OUT
Who is Nicky Milligan and when will the Emmerdale character played by Lewis Cope leave the ITV soap?
If Nicky decides to leave chances are he won't be leaving alone
NICKY Milligan is a much-loved character on ITV soap Emmerdale.
The character has wreaked havoc in Emmerdale since arriving in December 2022, but now there are rumours that he could be leaving.
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Who is Lewis Cope?
Lewis Cope, is a British actor from Hartlepool, County Durham.
He is one of 14 children, with three of this brothers - Adam, Danny and Peter - winning the Northern area title as professional boxers.
However, Lewis chose to take up acting and dancing and landed his first role when he was just 11 years old, in Billy Elliot: The Musical in London's West End.
He then joined the street dance group Ruff Diamond and appeared in Sky's Got To Dance in 2013.
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Lewis went on to study drama and has appeared in Hetty Feather, Doctors, and Vera.
Aside from acting, Lewis also models.
He appeared in an advertisement campaign for David Beckham's scent Bold Instinct and the two have been famously friends ever since.
The soap star is in a relationship with fellow actor Rachel Lopez, often posting pics of her on his Instagram page.
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They are thought to have been in a relationship since 2016.
Who does Lewis Cope play in Emmerdale?
Lewis landed his dream soap role on Emmerdale in December 2022.
The Hartlepool actor joined the line-up as Nicky Milligan.
He is the son of Ruby Fox-Milligan and Caleb Milligan.
However, in June 2024, The Sun exclusively revealed that the character was leaving the soap with his exit scene already filmed.
What happens to Nicky Milligan in Emmerdale?
Nicky has featured in some dramatic storylines, which saw him hide his own sexuality from his father, Caleb.
He arrived in the village when Gabby Thomas and Dawn Fletcher were in desperate need of a new nanny for their respective children.
The hunk was an immediate success at Home Farm.
But viewers knew better than to fall for Nicky's charm and they quickly became suspicious of him, believing the newcomer was hiding something.
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Gabby decided to come clean about the feelings she'd been harbouring for Nicky.
Initially reluctant as he feared for his job, he eventually told Gabby the attraction was mutual and the pair embarked on a secret relationship.
Gabby grew tired of living in secrecy and told Kim Tate (Claire King) the truth about her romance with Nicky - which resulted in him being fired.
Nicky then made a grand gesture and proposed to Gabby at The Hide Bistro.
All seemed well but fans of the Yorkshire-based drama were proven again that no newcomer can be fully trusted when it was revealed Nicky was, in fact, Caleb Milligan's (Will Ash) son.
To top it all off, he was also Frank Tate's grandson as his father was the product of an affair between the late patriarch and Faith Dingle.
When his true identity was revealed, Caleb revealed his goal to get his hands on the Tate fortune, which he believed was owed to him.
In a sick twist, he'd decided to use Gabby's feelings for Nicky to his advantage by pushing his own son to tie the knot with her.
Little did he know at the time that Nicky was keeping a massive secret of his own from him.
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Nicky was mortified when his friend Ally (Josh Horrocks) arrived in the Dales, introducing himself to Gabby.
The bride-to-be encouraged Nicky to spend some time with his friend, completely unaware that Ally was actually Nicky's lover.
Tired of living a lie and unwilling to go through with Caleb's plan, Nicky came out to his father in the hope it would be enough for him to call it quits.
But a money-hungry Caleb refused and vowed to destroy Nicky if he ever jeopardised their plans.
Nicky tried to stick it out but the pressure became too overwhelming for him when Gabby suggested he adopt her son Thomas.
The couple's wedding day descended into chaos when he revealed everything to Gabby - including his father's intentions.
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This led to an explosive altercation in the Home Farm barn between Caleb and Nicky with the latter being pushed out of the village.
Nicky was last seen outside Emmerdale as he spoke to Ally, ready for their life together.
Unfortunately for him, Ally was beyond shocked he would even consider going along with Caleb's plan to take advantage of Gabby and left him heartbroken.
The former nanny returned to Emmerdale on June 20, 2023, after his father nearly died when he was pushed off a ravine.
Nicky was beside himself as the police arrested Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), convinced he was to blame.
But the biggest bombshell was dropped at Caleb's bedside - Nicky was certain he'd managed to kill off his own father.
The troubled character then found himself a victim of homophobia after kissing new boyfriend Suni Sharma.
When is Lewis Cope leaving Emmerdale?
Emmerdale is set to deliver some dramatic scenes in the coming weeks, with two characters exiting the village.
Emmerdale fans have witnessed Nicky struggle for his parents acceptance of his relationship with partner Suni.
Nicky's relationship with his parents was strained further after the death of Ethan Anderson (Emile John) in a hit-and-run by Nicky's mother, Ruby (Beth Cordingly).
Who else is leaving Emmerdale?
Spoilers have predicted that Nicky plans to ask Suni to leave Emmerdale farm with him in an up-and-coming episode.
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It is not yet confirmed whether Suni will agree to join his partner Nicky in relocating.
Suni is played by Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana.
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