Emmerdale’s William Ash has called for the return of his on-screen son Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope) to the soap.
Nicky left the village with boyfriend Suni Sharma (Brahmdeo Shannon) last summer, as he sought to distance himself from his family in the wake of his mother Ruby Fox-Miligan’s (Beth Cordingly) role in Ethan Anderson’s (Emile John) death.
Since then, Nicky’s family have been at the centre of a huge storyline, with viewers learning that Ruby was sexually abused by her father Anthony (Nicholas Day) when she was a teenager.
A DNA test later revealed that Ruby’s daughter Steph (Georgia Jay) was actually Anthony’s and not her husband Caleb’s. Shortly after, Anthony was found dead with Ruby later admitting she had killed him.
With a whole new family dynamic now at play, William – who plays Caleb – said he’d love to see Nicky thrown back into the mix.
‘I’d love for Lewis to come back. I didn’t want him to go,’ William said.
‘Nicky would find out about Ruby and grandad and it all makes sense to him why Steph was sent away, the family dynamic would be really interesting if he was to come back,’ he added to The Mirror.
Lewis made his first appearance in the Dales as Nicky back in December 2022.
The character was initially brought in as a childminder working at Home Farm for Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) and Dawn Fletcher’s (Olivia Bromley) children, but a shocking twist later revealed he was Caleb’s son and was plotting revenge against Kim Tate (Claire King).
As the current Miligan family storyline continues to play out, William also told of how Caleb will go to any lengths to protect Ruby and Steph in light of recent events.
He said: ‘He’d put his life on the line for her and to keep the secret from Steph. It’s too painful for that to get out. It’s painful enough for Caleb and Ruby.
‘They’re just papering over the cracks. It’s inevitable that it’s going to get out.’
Will added: ‘Without a doubt Caleb would take the blame. He didn’t see that Ruby was carrying this secret and wasn’t able to say it, but he feels gutted that he didn’t know anything. She’s sacrificed so much for him.’
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1 or stream first from 7am on ITVX.
