Former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope is currently wowing audiences with his impressive dance moves on Strictly Come Dancing.

The 30-year-old actor and his professional partner Katya Jones have topped the leaderboard twice so far. The couple notably left the judges speechless with their Johnny Cash-inspired Quickstep to “Ring of Fire” on Saturday (October 25) night.

Before he made a name for himself in the Strictly ballroom, Lewis was best known for playing Nicky Miligan in ITV soap Emmerdale. But how did Nicky leave the Dales?

Nicky was first introduced to Emmerdale in December 2022 as the estranged son of Caleb (William Ash) and Ruby Miligan (Beth Cordingly). He soon found himself involved in several dramatic storylines.

In January 2023, Nicky became the live-in nanny at Home Farm as part of Caleb’s scheme to bring down his father Frank Tate’s (Norman Bowler) widow, Kim (Claire King), and get his hands on her money.

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As part of his scheme, Nicky proposed to Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham), who is the mother of Kim’s grandson, Thomas (Bertie Brotherton).

However, Nicky couldn’t go through with the marriage on the day of their wedding, and soon confessed to Gabby that he was gay.

Later that year, Suni Sharma (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana) arrived in the village and immediately expressed an interest in Nicky. Despite initial interference from Gabby, Nicky and Suni began a relationship.

The couple moved in together in 2024, but tragedy soon struck. Nicky and Ethan Anderson (Emile John) were driving home from a night out when an intoxicated Ethan crashed the car.

Nicky was seriously injured in the crash and was placed in a coma due to his injuries.

The police soon discovered that Nicky was not the one driving, with Ruby then taking it upon herself to get revenge on Ethan – who died shortly afterwards from a brain aneurysm.

After an eventful few months, Suni and Nicky left the village in July 2024 to start a new life together.

However, some Emmerdale fans believe that Nicky could be heading back to the Dales when the police discover his grandad Anthony Fox’s (Nicholas Day) dead body.

ITV viewers will recall the Anthony was murdered in January by his daughter Ruby, who was sexually abused as a teen and got pregnant.

Killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) then helped clear the body and crime scene of any evidence, with Caleb recently seen digging up Anthony’s remains.

On the prospect of Lewis returning to the soap, one fan wrote on a Facebook fan page: “I hope when Lewis Cope is done with Strictly he’ll come to Emmerdale.”

Another added: “Same here!” Could Nicky make an unexpected Dales comeback? We’ll have to wait and see.