Inside Emmerdale star Nicola Wheeler’s life off-screen – from secret partner to harrowing health battle
NICOLA King has been catapulted into the spotlight in recent Emmerdale episodes and deals with trauma from her attack.
Meanwhile, actress Nicola Wheeler leads a far more peaceful life away from the Yorkshire-based soap.
As she tries to mend her relationship with her sister Bernice Blackstock following their bitter warring over council business, Nicola is finding it hard to cope with her everyday life after being brutally mugged.
Recent scenes have shown the co-owner of Café Main Street suffer from horrific panic attacks and display symptoms of agoraphobia as she struggles to leave her home.
With her intense anxiety taking over, Nicola has already landed herself into trouble with David Metcalfe when she crashed into his car.
The consequences of her mental health hardship could be life-changing as Nicola attacks another villager this week.
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Speaking about her alter ego's recent storyline, Nicola Wheeler revealed a secret health battle of hers.
The soap star is an extremely private person but was happy to disclose a rare glimpse into her life off-screen as she spoke about her recent hip replacement.
Her health condition forced her to take time off from the set for a few months and Emmerdale bosses let her know she'd have to film some harrowing scenes upon her return.
"I took a couple of months off for a hip replacement and they told me about this story", Nicola told This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
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"They said ‘What we are going to do is we are going to bring you back and beat you up, is that okay?’"
"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."
But in an interview with The Sun, Nicola let soap fans know she was dedicated to her role despite her secret injury.
She didn't let her health stop her from filming scenes of Nicola's crash with David.
"I don’t know whether I should tell you this because Emmerdale might get into trouble", Nicola said.
"I literally came out of my dressing room and they handed me some car keys and said, ‘Right, what we want you to do is get in the car, drive and then slam the brakes on. You can do this can’t you?’"
"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."
But understandably, Nicola was still apprehensive.
"I thought, what if I don’t get the brakes on? It was actually quite scary."
"I probably was miles away [from David Metcalfe actor Matthew Wolfenden], but I kept thinking, ‘What if my foot slips, what if I do actually hit the back of his car?’"
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This wasn't the first time Nicola kept something from her fans.
As mentioned above, the actress doesn't tend to divulge much from her personal life - this includes details about her relationship.
While she shows off her close bonds with her Emmerdale co-stars Samantha Giles and Matthew Bose (aka her on-screen half-brother Paul Lambert who left the show in 2015), Nicola keeps the man she loves away from the limelight.
Nicola's diehard fans may already know the actress is in a long-term relationship with a man named Matt.
The pair are reportedly married and live in a rustic cottage in West Yorkshire, where Emmerdale is filmed.
However, they've agreed to keep their home life off of social media and never attend ceremonies or public events together.
Nicola is active on Twitter, seemingly staying away from other platforms in the likes of Instagram, and shares her passion for arts and crafts.
According to her account, she's also a big animal lover.
In 2015, Nicola announced she was expecting the couple's first and only child when she was eight months pregnant via a statement shared on Twitter.
"Thanks for all your congratulations still got a couple of weeks until arrives. Unless he/she gets impatient", she penned.
Nicola and her partner welcomed a boy they named Jude.
Emmerdale's official page then confirmed she had given birth by sending her their best wishes.
Nicola took her maternity leave while her character was sent away to Dubai for a new job.
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Again, the actress has made sure her son is protected from the ups and downs of fame by rarely showing him off on social media.
Emmerdale airs on ITV.
