Interview with Nick Pickard

7 October 2015

Do you remember your audition - how did you get the part?

Yes I remember I had to do 10 auditions and I was so nervous. You always want the job but if you’ve just had one audition there’s not as much pressure as if you’ve been back 10 times. You start to think you might get the part. I got to know the people I was auditioning with and we used to travel back and forth to Liverpool together. I remember when I got back from the last audition I went to my agent’s office and by the time I got there, they’d heard that I got the part. We all had a group hug.

 

Lots of people leave Hollyoaks to go to Hollywood but you did it the other way round. Are you ever tempted to return to film ?

I’d like to do film again one day but I’m really happy at Hollyoaks – I’m not one of these people who thinks the grass is greener… I wouldn’t stay anywhere that I didn’t want to be and I’m really proud of Hollyoaks and what it’s become. I’ve been acting since I was a child and did a film with Christian Bale and Christopher Lee called Mio in the Land of Far Away. I actually always wanted to be in Grange Hill and got really excited whenever I got a small part on that. My brother, John, was on Grange Hill for 10 years and then I went in. It was a show I always watched so I was really happy when I got to be in it.

 

What memories do you have of your first ever day?

I was a bag of nerves. I remember being so nervous but that there were all these lovely people who made me feel really welcome and comfortable - some are still working here. I remember word for word the first scene I did with Jeremy Edwards who played Kurt. We ran the scene so many times that my lines are firmly stuck in my memory. The scene was actually filmed in the canteen where the cast and crew ate.

 

How much has the show changed? What were the early days like, living together and partying every night?

It’s changed incredibly, the most noticeable is that at the beginning it never covered serious-issue storylines and now that’s one of things Hollyoaks does really well. The people who work here are still some of the friendliest people you’ll meet. I’m really proud of what Hollyoaks has achieved over 20 years and if we’ve been going that long, we must be doing something right! In the beginning there was a regular cast of just seven people – three boys and four girls and the show was only on once a week. Then after about a year it went to two episodes. I’d always lived in London but I love Liverpool. I remember in the early days people used to say “you’re in that Cheshire Oaks aren’t you?” Now, there’s a third generation of people who are watching it and I bump into people you have been watching since the beginning.

 

What's your favourite Hollyoaks memory / favourite storyline?

Favourite storyline: for me as an actor, Tony’s cancer storyline was my favourite. It was about Tony’s journey from diagnosis to getting the all clear over the course of a year and a half. I was able to really invest and get my teeth into the storyline. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Bryan and when we talked about shaving my head and waxing off all my body hair I really wanted to do it properly – Bryan didn’t have to ask me twice. Although, I didn’t think I’d have to keep shaving my head for quite as long as I did – it got a bit cold but it makes you realise that cancer affects everything in your life, nothing is untouched. I was glad to have that constant reminder.

Memory: My favourite memory was the first time Hollyoaks went to the NTAs. I didn’t go but I remember they showed a comedy clip of Tony. As they panned around the auditorium I saw people like David Jason were laughing at my performance and I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe people of that calibre were enjoying my work and thought I must be doing something right.

 

Most embarrassing scene?

Kissing scenes are always quite embarrassing. It’s ok when you’ve been doing it with the same person for a while, but when it’s new and they shout action and you’ve just got to do it, it’s a bit awkward – you don’t know which way they’re going to go… Then when you’re finished doing it you just walk off to your next scene.

 

Can you tell us a secret about something you did when filming and never told anyone? Did you steal a prop, play a prank, etc?

We always played loads of pranks, one that I remember being the victim of was when Will Mellor and Ben Hull set my foot on fire. I was having a nap and there was a tag on the end of my shoe, which they set alight. I woke up to an 8ft flame at the bottom of my leg – I just screamed! I’ve also pinched some of Tony’s clothes before. When you do a stunt, you get three lots of clothes so you can do a few takes. I’ve taken one of those sets of clothes before.

 

Is it true there was only one set in the beginning and they had to use a blue sparks van to hide the Brookside set? Are there any other BTS secrets like that?
That’s not true but we did use Baz FM’s van in the background of a lot of shots and that was an old sparks’ van. There was only really one set back then, which was The Dog in the Pond because we were only originally doing a few eps. For the rest of the scenes we went on location in Chester. The swimming pool set in Hollyoaks was also the Brookside community pool. One side had palm trees and looked very glamorous for Hollyoaks, but the other half was a bit grotty for the community pool. There were times when there’d be a Brookside crew filming on one side and a Hollyoaks crew on the other filming at the same time.

 

When did you last see everyone, who do you stay in touch with?

A lot of former cast came to my 40th birthday party in May. I still see Jeremy Edwards, James Redmond and Will Mellor regularly and because of the industry our paths always cross. I also saw a lot of people at Terri Dwyer’s 40th, she’s probably been the best at keeping in touch with everyone other years.

 

Hollyoaks is a very dangerous place to live. What is it about Tony that has saved him from a brutal exit?

I’ve always got on well with my bosses…

 

Sum up Hollyoaks in three words

Lots of fun.