Inside Emmerdale Jimmy King star’s secret connection to Hollywood royalty
Emmerdale actor Nick Miles' private life is nearly as colourful as his character Jimmy, who has been through some turbulent times, but the actor's life is just as interesting
Emmerdale actor Nick Miles has been on the show for a whopping 19 years and has played a pivotal in some of the soap’s biggest storylines.
Nick has played Jimmy King in the ITV programme but little do fans know he also starred in two big blockbuster movies aside from his astonishing soap career.
Over the years, Jimmy has undergone a major personality transplant, having started out as a nasty, cold businessman who was willing to stop anyone in his way.
First arriving with to the Dales with his three brothers in February 2004, Jimmy has outlived his ruthless brothers Carl, Matthew, Max and even his dad Tom.
Most villagers were pleased to see the back of them and since then Jimmy had turned into a kinder comedy character and devoted husband.
However, the character has ended up facing serious jail time along with him cheating on his wife Nicola with Mandy.
Anyway, enough about Jimmy, let’s take a look inside the life of the lad who plays him…
Starting out
Nick is obviously best known for playing hapless Jimmy but he has also dabbled in Hollywood.
The Birmingham-born actor Nick once starred in a music video for rock band Embrace as a policeman, which then struck a coincidence into his next role when he played Chief Superintendent Guy Mannion in The Bill between 1993 and 2001.
Nick has also appeared in a whole host of UK TV series, featuring in Casualty, Silent Witness and Heartbeat.
However, but movie buffs might have also spotted him in two highly-acclaimed films.
In 2002, Nick starred alongside Hollywood royalty in Martin Scorsese epic Gangs of New York, as an Atlantic Guard Leader, which also featured Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis.
But following this, Nick returned to the small screen and made his Emmerdale debut in 2004.
Emmerdale’s early days
Nick reportedly only intended to stay on set for 12 months, which quickly turned into 17 years.
He said: “You don’t become an actor to stay in the one job. I only intended to do a year but I’ve been very lucky.”
“Jimmy King has been at the heart of some cracking storylines and the twists and turns have kept it interesting.”
In an interview, he also spoke of the time when he found out Patsy Kensit was going to become his onscreen wife.
Nick began: “The Monday after I arrived there was a newspaper report saying Patsy Kensit was coming in to be my wife.
“I remember walking into the green room like a terrified zombie and everybody pointing at me and saying, ‘here he comes, Mr Kensit’.”
Homelife
Jimmy has been no stranger to scandal over the years, amid his current cheating and jailtime antics now, but luckily for Nick, his personal life is a far cry from the character’s life he plays.
The actor got hitched to wife Stephanie Lumb and first made the announcement about their big day at the 2006 National TV Awards.
At the time, Nick said: “I’m getting wed – It’s very exciting.”
Nick and Stephanie, have lived together in West Witton within the Yorkshire Dales National Park for more than 10 years.
There has also been a new addition to their family, having recently bought an adorable border terrier puppy during lockdown.
Also during the pandemic, Nick jokingly shared a snap of his painted nails and said: “Wife’s boredom levels have gone through the roof”.
The star has also been upset over the local issues surrounding the Yorkshire Dales, where Emmerdale set.
He was left “heartbroken” by people burning moorland near his home and called for a ban on the “archaic” practice.
Every year people ignite the moors to encourage new growth of heather to feed grouse reared for shooting.
In April this year, Nick told The Mirror: “We are told not to burn wood in our stoves but we see them setting fire to heather which damages the environment. It depresses me every time I see it, he told The Mirror.
“It is heartbreaking when you are on top of a hill and see five different fires with emissions going up into the atmosphere and knowing underneath it is a deep peat bog, a vital sink for carbon.”
Nick wrote to his MP Rishi Sunak about the issue but said his plea fell on deaf ears, despite the COP26 climate conference being hosted in the UK in November.
He added: “How do we go to COP26 wagging our fingers about other countries’ wildlife when we are slaughtering our own for a few shooters? I would like to see it go altogether. We need much more biodiversity.”