Nick Cotton

Nick Cotton
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	John Altman
Duration	1985–1991, 1993, 1998, 2000–2001, 2008–2009, 2014–2015
First appearance	Episode 1 "Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Last appearance	Episode 5017/5018 "Look Back in Anger" 19 February 2015 (2015-02-19)
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Julia Smith and Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985–1988) Michael Ferguson (1990–1991) Leonard Lewis (1993) Mike Hudson (1998) John Yorke (2000) Diederick Santer (2008) Dominic Treadwell-Collins (2014)
Book appearances	The Baffled Heart An Eye for Business
Spin-off appearances	"Return of Nick Cotton" (2000)
Crossover appearances	Noel’s House Party (1992) Bo Selecta (2004)
In-universe information Other names Nasty Nick Occupation Handyman Drug dealer Waiter Plumber Con artist Career criminal Father Charlie Cotton Mother Dot Cotton Half-brothers Andrew Cotton Tom "Rocky" Cotton Wife Yvonne Cotton (backstory) Sons Charlie Cotton Ashley Cotton Daughters Dotty Cotton Grandsons Matthew Mitchell Cotton Aunts Rose Cotton

Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia Smith demanding he was written out after he opposed a decision to make his character gay.^[1] After Smith's departure, the character made numerous brief or more protracted stints until his onscreen death in February 2015, which was written to coincide with the 30th anniversary of EastEnders.

Nick Cotton was notably responsible for the death of Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton), who was discovered unconscious in the first scene of the programme in 1985, and revealed in the following episode to have died. Nick's death was partly scripted as a reenactment of Reg's death, as Nick died in the same spot where Reg had died, exactly 30 years prior.

Nick's primary function was as an antagonist, a drug-user and a murderer. He was conceived by the show's creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. A late inclusion to the original cast line-up, Nick was included based on writer feedback to Holland and Smith's original script, which centred on the murder of Reg Cox, whose killer they had not originally intended to reveal. Nick was created to be the assailant and to provide the show with more dramatic storyline potential. During his time on the show, Nick embarked on multiple feuds with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), Mark Fowler (David Scarboro/Todd Carty), Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin), Tony Carpenter (Oscar James), Ali Osman (Nedjet Salih), Pete Beale (Peter Dean), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Clyde Tavernier (Steven Woodcock), Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), Eddie Skinner (Richard Vanstone), his father Charlie Cotton (Christopher Hancock) and Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack).

Nick is used as an "out and out villain". It was suggested by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins that unlike other soap characters who behaved badly and required a more nuanced characterisation and redemption, it was possible to use Nick as a complete "bad guy".^[2] A television critic for The Guardian suggested that, for this reason, the character's dastardly motives were rarely questioned by viewers, as his primary function is that of "an agent of chaos". It was also suggested that Nick's appearances on the show needed to be brief because the level of malevolence he portrays could not be sustained in a character over longer periods.^[3]

Nick's most prominent relationship is with his mother Dot Cotton (June Brown). It is portrayed as complex, dysfunctional and somewhat cyclical, with Nick perpetually entering his mother's life, her forgiving him for past misdemeanours (including an attempt to kill her to steal her bingo winnings), then being let down when Nick's true intentions are revealed, often ending in his banishment, albeit temporarily, before the cycle repeats. Nick's eventual demise in 2015 pays homage to this relationship, with Dot – finally realising the extent of Nick's villainous behaviour and accepting his inability to change – ultimately deciding to allow Nick to die, rather than seeking medical assistance after he has a fatal reaction to heroin, her motive being to let Jesus decide whether Nick should live or die.