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Nick Cotton - in depth profile
Nick Cotton
Played by John Altman
Born 1959 - first appearance 19 February 1985
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Brief overview
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Nick Cotton was responsible for EastEnders' opening scandal back in the very first episode in 1985: the murder of old Reg Cox.
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During his time in the Square, he was a heroin addict, racist and a thoroughly nasty piece of work.
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Nick was also responsible for the murder of Eddie Royle, which he tried to frame Clyde Tavernier for.
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He almost succeeded in poisoning his own mother, Dot, to get his hands on her bingo winnings.
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However, we saw a very rare "softer side" of Nick when he ultimately couldn't go though with it. This is one of the only shreds of decency he ever exhibited during his time on the Square.
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He constantly messed with Dot's mind and each time he reappeared in the Square, looking more dishevelled and desperate, you knew he would try to con her again, and you knew she'd fall for it.
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For many years Dot couldn't face up to the truth about her son and blamed herself for indulging him when he was a child.
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He did enjoy a short spell of domesticity with Zoe and fathered a son (Ashley).
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His famous catchphrase was "Hello Ma".
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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 later that year.
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In November 2000, Nick returned to Walford with his son Ashley and they moved in with Dot. He told Dot he had changed his drug habit and was completely reformed from his drug addiction.
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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.
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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.
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Dot and Pauline Fowler also shouted for Ashley to stop, but he then came face-to-face with a pedestrian. Ashley swerved to avoid the pedestrian, but the bike flipped over the pavement and Ashley was sent flying into the laundrette.
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Nick, Dot and Pauline were on the scene immediately, and Dr Trueman joined them within seconds, but Ashley was already dead.
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A few days later, Dot later overheard an argument between Nick and Mark in which Nick said "it should be you that's getting buried".
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This convinced her that Nick had caused Ashley's death. Ìý
After the funeral Dot threw Nick out telling him never to return again as she would never forgive him for causing cute Ashley's death.
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Nick left Walford in a taxi and nothing was heard of him for the next five years.
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For the past few years, Nick has been residing at Her Majesty's Pleasure for drug related offences. Ìý
More detailed storyline information:
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Reg Cox's murder
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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 of EastEnders. It was later revealed that he had been beaten up by Nick who was trying to rob his house.
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Nick first told Den Watts he had killed Reg while he was in prison in 1988.
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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.
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At the end of the first episode, Nick taunted Ali Osman about being Turkish and they began to fight in the Queen Vic.
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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". Ìý
Nick and Charlie
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Because Charlie had left Dot and Nick while Nick was still a child, Nick never got to know his father who was absent for Nick's entire childhood and teenage years.
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When Charlie finally arrived in 1986 Nick was absent from Walford at the time.
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They did eventually 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.
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Nick confided in Charlie that he had cheated some of his friends out of their money and they were looking for him.
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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.
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Charlie happily told him Nick's whereabouts and 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 didn't leave straight away.
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Charlie proved he never did care for his son even after meeting all these years later.
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Nick was forced to go cold turkey to rid himself of his heroin addiction. Ìý
Drug addiction
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Nick did several stints in prison and most of these spells behind bars were for drug-related offences, as Nick was a heroin addict.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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He attempted to escape from the room but Pete put up bars against the door to stop him from escaping.
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Nick's health had deteriorated and he had grown a beard, looking more grizzly than ever.
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Eddie Royle's murder
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In September 1991, Nick escaped from his room and stabbed Queen Vic landlord Eddie Royle to death after a robbery attempt.
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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.
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Clyde Tavernier was also a suspect because he had discovered Eddie's body and held the knife left next to the slain man.
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Nick eventually confessed to the murder and was arrested, awaiting trial for over a year.
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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. Ìý
Zoe and Ashley
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In July 1993 Nick returned with his secret wife Zoe whom he had never spoken of before and introduced Dot to Nick's young son Ashley.
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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 a few years earlier.
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Dot did become convinced eventually. She grew close to Ashley and Dot was then convinced by Zoe to live away from Walford with her, Nick and Ashley and move to Gravesend.
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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.
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She returned to Walford in April 1997 revealing Nick had been arrested yet again (off-screen) for drugs possession while Zoe and Ashley moved away having got sick of his criminal acts.
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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. Ìý
AIDS
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In April of 1998, Nick made a return to Walford having escaped from prison.
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He turned up at Dot's doorstep but was stopped by Dot's friend Nigel Bates who prevented him from entering her house.
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Nick threatened Nigel and told him he had better watch out as he would return.
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Over the following week Nick secretly broke into Dot's house and tried searching for some money but couldn't find any.
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Eventually he sneaked up on Dot and, desperate for cash, he tried to cheat her out of her money once more by telling her he had AIDS.
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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 died.
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He initially told her he was planning a heist to finance his trip to France but Dot talked him out of it.
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He said she would never hear from him again and all he needed was money. Dot believed his story and tried to arrange the money for Nick.
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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. Ìý
The Return Of Nick Cotton special
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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 later that year.
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The episode followed Nick, two years since his last appearance in Walford, as he came out of prison.
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Fast forward to many months later and he was living in a squat a few months after his release.
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He had a dream where his dead father, Charlie, appeared warning him that something terrible was about to happen.
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He was then told by some people living in the squat with him that seeing your own dead relatives in your dreams is bad karma but Nick wasn't worried.
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He then decided to meet up with his son Ashley and ex-wife Zoe.
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He met with Zoe's brother Eddie and asked her for Zoe's whereabouts.
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Soon some mean-looking men were on his trail, presumably for reasons related to Nick's dodgy deals in the past. Nick met up with Ashley and Ashley revealed he and Zoe were living with Zoe's new boyfriend John.
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Nick's dodgy mates caught up with him at Zoe's house and, to escape them, Ashley and Nick got into a stolen car and drove off.
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Zoe was very reluctant about letting Ashley go with Nick, knowing he would be a bad influence on his son.
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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".
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They decided to travel around a bit before returning to Walford.
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Feud with Mark Fowler
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In November 2000, Nick returned to Walford with his son Ashley and they moved in with Dot.
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He told Dot he had changed his drug habit and was completely reformed from his drug addiction.
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This time Dot believed him once again and thought him genuinely reformed.
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Soon after, however, his long-running feud with neighbour Mark Fowler raised its ugly head when Nick started supplying Mark's 15-year-old brother Martin with drugs, and Martin was hospitalised as a result.
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Mark got his revenge on Nick
by spiking Nick's drink in the Queen Vic and luring him onto a nearby bridge on New Year's Day 2001.
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Nick fell off the bridge and was badly injured. He suffered a fractured spine and, on regaining consciousness, told Dot that he had been pushed by Mark, but the police did not press charges.
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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.
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He returned home from the spinal unit on crutches in May and, two weeks later, had an argument with Mark Fowler's pregnant girlfriend Lisa in the Square one night.
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But Mark approached on his motorbike and almost ran over Nick, who threatened to kill him.
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Nick then cut the brakes on Mark's motorbike and was determined that Mark would crash the bike and die. Ìý
Ashley's death
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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.
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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.
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Dot and Pauline Fowler also shouted for Ashley to stop, but he came face-to-face with a pedestrian.
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Ashley swerved to avoid the pedestrian but the bike flipped over the pavement and Ashley was sent flying towards the laundrette, smashing the window – he was knocked onto the pavement and died.
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Nick, Dot and Pauline were on the scene immediately, and Dr Trueman joined them within seconds, but Ashley was already dead.
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A few days later, Dot later overheard an argument between Nick and Mark in which Nick said, "it should be you that's getting buried".
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This convinced her that Nick had caused Ashley's death.
After the funeral Dot threw Nick out telling him never to return again as she would never forgive him for causing cute Ashley's death.
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Nick left Walford in a taxi and nothing was heard of him for the next five years. Ìý
Illness and recovery
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On 16 May 2006, Jim Branning received a phone call from Nick, who was in a prison hospital with throat cancer.
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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.
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Bradley later told his girlfriend Stacey Slater about Nick and Stacey accidentally let slip to Dot about Nick's illness. Ìý
She was very upset that Jim did not tell her. Dot then decided to visit Nick in hospital, fearing that he would soon die.
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Nick went on to make a full recovery and Dot returned to the Square within weeks.
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None of these scenes were shown on screen, and Nick was never seen by viewers.
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It was never revealed why he was in prison at the time of his illness, nor how long he was set to be imprisoned for. Ìý
Nick Cotton Appeared on EastEnders during:
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February 1985 - June 1990 (intermittently)
June 1991 - December 1991
November 1992 - January 1993
August 1993 - September 1993
April 1998
November 2000 - February 2001
May 2001 - June 2001
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EastEnders Publicity
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