‘EastEnders’: Nasty Nick returning to trouble Dot Cotton

EastEnders’

notorious ‘Nasty Nick’ is to return to Albert Square – even though his long-suffering “Ma”, June Brown’s iconic Dot, was told earlier this year that he had died following a heroin overdose.

Last night (June 28), viewers found out that ‘Nasty’ Nick Cotton is in fact alive when Carol (Lindsey Coulson) answered a phone belonging to Nick’s son, Charlie (Declan Bennett), and heard his distinctive voice at the end of the line.

Now the BBC has confirmed that actor John Altman, 62, will be reprising his role as the infamous soap baddie for the first time since 2009.

“After a five-year break I’m very pleased and much looking forward to returning to EastEnders,” the actor said in a press release. “With the promise of some hard-hitting and gritty storylines I’m sure the residents of Albert Square will be none too pleased to see Nick Cotton back on the streets of Walford.”

Altman, who appeared in the very first episode of the BBC soap back in 1985, added: “I’m also looking forward to working alongside Declan Bennett and Pauline McLynn [who plays Yvonne Cotton]. And of course being reunited and working once again with my ‘dear old Ma’, the wonderful June Brown. ”

Meanwhile, the show’s executive producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said of the villain’s unexpected comeback:

“As we approach EastEnders’ 30th anniversary, it’s only fitting that our original bad boy – and soap’s most iconic villain – returns to Albert Square to cause more trouble for his Ma. It’s time for the indomitable June Brown to have the Nick story to end all Nick stories – and with Declan and Pauline in the mix too, it’s going to be an exciting bumpy ride as the Cottons begin to unravel…”

The exact date of Altman’s return to Albert Square has yet to be announced.

EastEnders won widespread praise earlier this year for a storyline in which Johnny Carter, played by Sam Strike, came out to his father, played by Danny Dyer. Dyer and Strike later appeared on the cover of Attitude – click here to see their cover.

Strike’s character Johnny Carter has since enjoyed a brief romance with an Italian boy he met at Pride – click here to see pictures of their on-screen kiss.