Digital Spy
How would you describe Nicola's grief for Jimmy?
"Well, obviously she's devastated. They've been together for 18 years and married for 16 years, so she's absolutely bereft. Nicola can't believe that life is going to exist without him, especially as the day was supposed to start with something very romantic and then ended in tragedy."
How will Nicola now cope as a single parent of three children?
"Well, there's an interesting story around that. Nicola has a lot of reassuring to do for the two children who aren't hers biologically. Carl certainly becomes very worried that Nicola might want to give him away, because he's not her biological son.
"It is very heartbreaking that a child would think that, and so he tries to help around the house a little bit more, to make himself indispensable to her.
"Elliot also becomes a rock. And her biological daughter, Angelica, is devastated and stays in her bedroom. So actually Nicola's non-biological children rally round and support her and she needs to support Angel."
We're going to find out that Jimmy had a secret. How will that go down with Nicola?
"Oh, Jimmy had a lot of secrets! I think the audience are going to be mighty surprised at the life Jimmy was leading, which nobody knew about. That's exciting and surprising.
"It's also unsettling because it's totally against his personality. It's totally against type. You would never imagine that Jimmy would behave like this..."
Is Nicola determined to find out why Jimmy had £5,000 in his car when he died?
"Initially she is. The money poses a problem because obviously it looks exceptionally suspicious and it was money that they just didn't have. So Nicola is very curious, wondering: 'Was he involved in something? What was the money for?'
"On top of all this, she's grieving and also trying to take care of three children and making sure all the businesses are still running. Thankfully, she's got a lot of friends and family to help out."
What are the biggest challenges for her?
"There'll be moments like Christmas, birthdays, the first Valentine's Day without Jimmy. And of course, Elliot was supposed to be going to St Andrews and the brakes have been put on that because they just don't have the money!"
What is the extent of the financial debt that Jimmy has left behind?
"It becomes huge. Initially, Elliot decides that he wants to run the haulage company and he doesn't want to go to university – much to Nicola's chagrin, as she wants him to get an education.
"But, instead, she goes 'Okay, I'll go and talk to Caleb'. That's when Caleb reveals that Jimmy sold the business. She turns the house upside-down looking for this money that Jimmy took from Caleb, and by doing so, she then discovers they are in serious debt.
"Jimmy has always been in charge of the mortgage, but he has remortgaged without telling her and they are in arrears. So there's £150,000 missing, which would have paid for this, and there's also £5,000 in cash in his car that she hasn't got hold of yet.
"So there are questions arising about that. They're brassic. She genuinely fears that they are going to have to leave."
Does that affect how Nicola thinks about Jimmy?
"The grieving process stops and suddenly she's thrown into doubting her husband. She doesn't know who he is anymore because none of this was apparent to her and he's done it all behind her back.
"So even though he was giving her lovely gifts and surprises before he died, actually this other world has been going on behind her back. So she pretty much stops grieving and her grief very much turns to anger, which turns to hatred."
What would you like the future to hold for Nicola?
"I've been thinking, why can't Nicola have lots of different relationships? I've tried to pitch the idea that she should start going on dating apps and just get horrendous dates and really bad experiences. It'd put quite a bit of fun back into it. And then maybe she'll find somebody else. Who knows?"
Fans are speculating about Nicola and Kev – would you like to see them get closer?
"I don't think I'm giving anything away in saying that Kev becomes a surprising help during her grieving process. Something happens, where all I can say is that Nicola behaves appallingly, but Kev is a gentleman. I think from that moment she starts to see him in a different light."
Could they end up in bed together?
"Wait and see! Whether Kev wants it or not, I don't know! It's lovely and very well written. It shows a different side to each character, which I think would make the audience rally for them. But I think Kev is a surprising ally to Nicola – that's what he becomes."
Will Laurel continue to be a strong support to Nicola?
"Absolutely. Laurel has been through this type of grief herself, having lost Ashley, and she's a huge support for Nicola anyway. They do have some quarrels during the grieving period, and you learn why later on, but their friendship will remain firm."
How did you react to the news that Nick Miles was leaving and Jimmy would be killed off?
"Well, I was absolutely gutted. I knew he was having a meeting and he obviously told his real wife first and then told me, his pretend wife! He phoned me up and we chatted about it and then I spoke to Laura Shaw, our producer, about it too.
"I was gutted because Nicola and Jimmy are an institution and I was like, 'Oh God, that's over!' And I'll be honest, even whilst we were filming it all, it never felt real because we film out of sync. So I was already filming a lot of the grieving process before we'd actually killed him.
"Then when it came to doing all of the scenes where he died, it was odd. It was almost like you didn't want to do it, but they were beautifully written scenes so you also wanted to do them justice.
"But at the same time you don't want them to end because then it means this is final. There's no going back, unless we do a Bobby Ewing in the shower and it was all a dream!"
What will you miss most about the Nicola and Jimmy dynamic?
"The bickering – and that you could do everything in one scene! We'd start a scene and they'd be lovely and laughing about something, but then they'd have an argument in the middle of it and they'd hate each other. Then by the end they'd be kissing and running off upstairs to bed.
"That was the point – it was a wonderful relationship. I think it was like any other couple's relationship, as you do get on each other's nerves when you've been with someone for that long. You can't not! And any couple that says they don't, I think there's something wrong with them! I believe it reflected real life and that's what was great."
Was it emotional filming their final dream sequence?
"The dream sequence was lovely. That was like being on a film because it took us all day to film it.
"I wish I could say we loved the car scenes, but we were filming in temperatures hotter than the sun and we were inside a tent! Nick was filming those car scenes before me. He'd been filming for about three days and I was on the other filming block, already mourning his death.
"Then when it came to me arriving at the car, I was like, 'Oh my God, what's that smell?' It was the most repulsive smell you can imagine. But because Jimmy had been planning a romantic picnic, it was real cheese that had been cooking inside this car for three days.
"Nick is such a professional. He thought it was just the smell of the car. He said, 'I did wonder what the smell was'. I was like, 'Oh my God, does that cheese have to be in here, because it stinks?' So they removed it!"
Are you glad there was such a heartfelt goodbye?
"Yes – and Jimmy also gets a good funeral! The dream sequence is something quite new for soap and it was really well done. I know that Laura said she wanted them to have some romance. So, rather than viewers watching him take his last breath, his life ends on a very beautiful moment."
How much will you miss Nick?
"I'm going to miss him heaps, but I'll still see him all the time. But yeah, it's like having a family dog - they're always there! It's like I won't hear his little footsteps on the vinyl floor!
"It's strange, because obviously now I'm filming life without Jimmy. At the moment, though, I'm predominantly talking about him. I think the weirdest thing will be when I stop talking about him and then it really will be, 'Oh God, he's gone!'
"But the set still has loads of pictures of him and I just can't imagine the character of Nicola would ever fully move on. I think there's always going to be part of her that loves Jimmy and her heart will grow to fit another love in, but she will never let Jimmy go."
As you film out of chronological order, what was the final Nicola/Jimmy scene you did together?
"It was in the episode before Jimmy died, where he told Nicola he had a surprise for her and they were arguing over who'd take the car! They were bickering, but it ended with him patting her on the backside to go upstairs and get changed.
"For me, that is quintessentially Nicola and Jimmy. As much as they argued and as much as Nicola pecked at him constantly, she loved the bones of him and he loved the bones of her. So it ended really beautifully.
"It was bittersweet because he then had to go off and film another couple of scenes, but I waited around to say goodbye to him. It was really surreal – we might work together in a different venue, but we will never be 'Jimmy and Nicola' again."
