Nick Pickard

Nicholas Pickard[1] (born 27 May 1975) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Tony Hutchinson in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a role he has held since its first episode in 1995; he remains the longest-serving cast member.

Nick Pickard
Pickard in 2007
Born	Nicholas Pickard (1975-05-27) 27 May 1975 Surrey, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Known for	Role of Tony Hutchinson in Hollyoaks (1995–present)
Children	1
Family	John Pickard (brother)

Early life

Nicholas Pickard was born on 27 May 1975 in Surrey, England.[1] He studied at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and Corona Theatre School worked extensively in the theatre before joining Hollyoaks.[1] His young brother, John, was also educated at the earlier school; John went on to join Hollyoaks in 2005, 10 years after Pickard did.[1] When Pickard joined Hollyoaks, he relocated to Liverpool, where the programme is filmed.[2]

Career

In his acting debut, Pickard played Mio, the lead role in Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987), starring alongside a young Christian Bale, where he was credited as Nicholas Pickard. In 1993, Pickard played a minor role in EastEnders, appearing as a young homeless boy. In addition, Pickard has appeared in other television programmes, including Us Girls and If You Were Me. He appeared in music videos for "Over My Shoulder" (for Mike + The Mechanics) and "Almost Unreal" (for Roxette).

He landed the role of Tony Hutchinson in Hollyoaks in 1995, becoming a member of the original cast.[2] He remains in the role to date, and has since became the longest-serving cast member, having played the part since the inaugural episode. Over the years, Pickard has been nominated for a number of awards independently and some nominations with colleagues.[3][4][5] In 2017, Pickard won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in honour of his achievement of playing the role for 22 years.[6]

In 2005, Pickard's brother John joined the cast of Hollyoaks, portraying the role of Dominic Reilly, the half-brother of Tony.[7] When John left the programme in 2010,[8] The Daily Star released a news article claiming that Pickard was set to follow in his brother's footsteps and depart Hollyoaks, stating that he was "disgusted" with his brother's "axing".[9] However, Pickard denied these reports, confirming that he was happy and had no intentions to leave the soap.[10]

Pickard has also trodden the boards with stage parts that include Richard II, An Enemy of the People and Edward II. He also joined the cast of the 2009 pantomime adaption of Cinderella at Liverpool Empire Theatre, where he portrayed Dandini. His break from Hollyoaks to perform in Cinderella was planned and written into the show.

In 2011, Pickard participated in the sixth series of Celebrity MasterChef, where he reached the final though lost out to Phil Vickery.[11][12] In 2016, he once again participated in a game show, appearing in an episode of Pointless Celebrities, playing the game in a partnership with his Hollyoaks colleague Alex Fletcher.[13]

Personal life

Pickard is the owner of several restaurants in Sheffield. He has a daughter named Ellie. Pickard was in a relationship with his former Hollyoaks colleague Joanna Taylor, who portrayed the role of Geri Hudson.[14] He is a dedicated Chelsea Football Club fan.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1987	Mio in the Land of Faraway	Bosse / Mio
1990	You Rang, M'Lord?	Boy Factory Worker
1991	Now That It's Morning	Ian
1992	GamesMaster	Himself
1993	EastEnders	Young Homeless Boy/Alan Hall
1993	ROXETTE – Almost Unreal (video clip)	Lead role
1994	Mike + The Mechanics – Over My Shoulder	Schoolboy in love
1994	Grange Hill	Mark
1995–present	Hollyoaks	Tony Hutchinson
1999	Brookside: Double Take!	Rosco Main
2001	Hollyoaks: Movin' On	Tony Hutchinson
2005	The Match	Himself
2007	The Weakest Link – #1019	Himself/Contestant
2007	Soapstar Superchef	Himself
2007	Xposé	Himself
2007	the British Soap Awards 2007	Himself
2007	For King and Country	Captain Philip Levaul-Grimwood
2008	Kidnap	Kidnapper
2009–2013, 2020	Hollyoaks Later	Tony Hutchinson
2009	Hollyoaks: The Good, The Bad & The Gorgeous	Tony Hutchinson / Jack Dawson
2010	SING FOR ENGLAND – HOLLYOAKS (video clip)	Himself
2011	Celebrity MasterChef	Himself
2016	Pointless Celebrities	Himself

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2001	Nominated	British Soap Award	Best Comedy Performance – Hollyoaks
2002	Nominated	British Soap Award	Best Comedy Performance – Hollyoaks
2017	Won	British Soap Award	Outstanding Achievement – Hollyoaks

References

1. Nick Pickard: Information and Much More from Answers.com
2. Foy 2009, p.4.
3. Welsh, James (16 May 2002). "The British Soap Awards 2002: The Nominees". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 11 September 2009.
4. Riley, Joe (16 September 2002). "ECHO Entertainment Awards 2002: A PURRFECT STARRY NIGHT; Atomic Kitten head our top celebration". Liverpool Echo. (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 23 July 2012.
5. Fletcher, Alex (22 September 2012). "National Television Awards 2013: Longlist nominations in full - vote". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Retrieved 22 September 2012.
6. "Hollyoaks legend wins 'Outstanding Achievement Award' at the British Soap Awards". Planet Radio. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
7. Green, Kris (19 August 2005). "Issue #4: Signings Special". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
8. Green, Kris (9 July 2010). "Exclusive: Four more to leave 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 28 October 2010.
9. Daniels, Colin (20 June 2010). "Nick Pickard to quit 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 13 September 2010.
10. Millar, Paul (21 June 2010). "Nick Pickard not leaving 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 13 September 2010.
11. "Celebrity MasterChef – BBC One". Plank PR. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
12. "Celebrity MasterChef dishes up 2011 winner". BBC. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
13. "Pointless Celebrities – what time is it on TV? Episode 37 Series 11 cast list and preview". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
14. http://www.channel4.com/community/showcards/H/Hollyoaks_-_Geri.html

External links

• Nick Pickard on IMDb
• Nick Pickard's profile on the Official Hollyoaks Website