Nick Pickard is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of Tony Hutchinson in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a role he has held since its first episode in 1995; he remains the longest-serving cast member and in 2017, won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Nick Pickard
Nick Pickard at Masterchef Live 2011
Born
Surrey, England
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present
Known forRole of Tony Hutchinson in Hollyoaks
Children1
RelativesJohn Pickard (brother)

Early life

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As a child he attended the Corona Theatre School in Hammersmith, followed by Sylvia Young Theatre School.[1][2]

Career

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In his acting debut, Pickard played Mio, the lead role in Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987), starring alongside a young Christian Bale, where he was credited as Nicholas Pickard. In 1993, Pickard played a minor role in EastEnders, appearing as a young homeless boy. In addition, Pickard has appeared in other television programmes, including Us Girls and If You Were Me. He appeared in music videos for "Over My Shoulder" (for Mike + The Mechanics) and "Almost Unreal" (for Roxette).

He landed the role of Tony Hutchinson in Hollyoaks in 1995, becoming a member of the original cast.[3] He remains in the role to date, and has since become the longest-serving cast member, having played the part since the inaugural episode. Over the years, Pickard has been nominated for a number of awards independently and some nominations with colleagues.[4][5][6] In 2017, Pickard won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in honour of his achievement of playing the role for 22 years.[7]

In 2005, Pickard's brother John joined the cast of Hollyoaks, portraying the role of Dominic Reilly, the half-brother of Tony.[8] When John left the programme in 2010,[9] The Daily Star released a news article claiming that Pickard was set to follow in his brother's footsteps and depart Hollyoaks, stating that he was "disgusted" with his brother's "axing".[10] However, Pickard denied these reports, confirming that he was happy and had no intentions to leave the soap.[11] Pickard has appeared in theatre productions including Richard II, An Enemy of the People and Edward II. He also joined the cast of the 2009 pantomime adaption of Cinderella at Liverpool Empire Theatre, where he portrayed Dandini. His break from Hollyoaks to perform in Cinderella was planned and written into the show.

In 2011, Pickard participated in the sixth series of Celebrity MasterChef, where he reached the final though lost out to Phil Vickery.[12][13] In 2016, he once again participated in a game show, appearing in an episode of Pointless Celebrities, playing the game in a partnership with his Hollyoaks colleague Alex Fletcher.[14]

In November 2023, he participated in the twenty-third series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![15] and, on 6 December, was the 4th celebrity to be eliminated from the show.[16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Mio in the Land of Faraway Mio / Bosse Film. Credited as Nicholas Pickard
1988 Erasmus Microman Ben 7 episodes
1990 You Rang, M'Lord? Boy Factory Worker 2 episodes. Credited as Nicholas Pickard
1991 Now That It's Morning Ian Short film. Credited as Nicholas Pickard
1992 Us Girls Sean 3 episodes. Credited as Nicholas Pickard
GamesMaster Himself - Contestant Series 2, episode 3
1993 Roxette:Almost Unreal Young man Music video
The Real McCoy Son Series 3, episode 1
1993, 1994 EastEnders Down and Out / Young Vagrant 2 episodes. Credited as Nicholas Pickard
1994 Grange Hill Mark Series 17, episode 18
1995 Mike + The Mechanics: Over My Shoulder Tony Huchinson (Schoolboy in Love) Music video
1995–present Hollyoaks Tony Hutchinson Recurring role
1999 Brookside: Double Take! Rosco Main Video
2001 Hollyoaks: Movin' On Tony Hutchinson 16 episodes
2002 Blankety Blank Himself - Guest Series 17, episode 18
2005 The Match Himself
2007 The Weakest Link Himself - Contestant Episode: "1019"
Soapstar Superchef 2 episodes
Xposé Himself Series 1, episode 2
The British Soap Awards TV Special
For King and Country Captain Philip Levaul-Grimwood
2008 Kidnap Kidnapper Film
All Star Family Fortunes Himself - Contestant Episode: "Hollyoaks vs. Emmerdale
2009 Hollyoaks: The Good, The Bad & The Gorgeous Tony Hutchinson / Jack Dawson
2009–2013, 2020 Hollyoaks Later Tony Hutchinson 9 episodes
2011 Celebrity MasterChef Himself - Contestant Series 6, 5 episodes
Celebrity Juice Series 6, 2 episodes
2012 Come Dine with Me Celebrity Christmas Special
2015 Hollyoaks One Killer Week Tony Hutchinson Video
2016, 2019 Pointless Celebrities Himself - Contestant Series 8, episode 16
Series 11, episode 36
2019 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Series 9, episode 12
2023 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Series 23, 9 episodes
Celebrity Mastermind Series 22, episode 3

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category/Recipient(s) Result
2001 British Soap Awards Best Comedy PerformanceHollyoaks Nominated
2002 Nominated
2017 Outstanding AchievementHollyoaks Won

References

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  1. ^ Trevitt, Georgia (19 November 2023). "I'm A Celebrity: Nick Pickard in profile – Hollyoaks star has a rarely seen partner and famous brother". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ^ Splash Special: School for Stars (1987) - FULL EPISODE, retrieved 18 December 2023
  3. ^ Foy 2009, p.4.
  4. ^ Welsh, James (16 May 2002). "The British Soap Awards 2002: The Nominees". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  5. ^ Riley, Joe (16 September 2002). "ECHO Entertainment Awards 2002: A PURRFECT STARRY NIGHT; Atomic Kitten head our top celebration". Liverpool Echo. (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  6. ^ Fletcher, Alex (22 September 2012). "National Television Awards 2013: Longlist nominations in full – vote". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Hollyoaks legend wins 'Outstanding Achievement Award' at the British Soap Awards". Planet Radio. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  8. ^ Green, Kris (19 August 2005). "Issue #4: Signings Special". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  9. ^ Green, Kris (9 July 2010). "Exclusive: Four more to leave 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  10. ^ Daniels, Colin (20 June 2010). "Nick Pickard to quit 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  11. ^ Millar, Paul (21 June 2010). "Nick Pickard not leaving 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  12. ^ "Celebrity MasterChef – BBC One". Plank PR. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Celebrity MasterChef dishes up 2011 winner". BBC. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Pointless Celebrities – what time is it on TV? Episode 37 Series 11 cast list and preview". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Nick Pickard thanks Hollyoaks bosses for letting him do I'm a Celebrity". Digital Spy. 13 November 2023.
  16. ^ Jefferies, Mark; Roy, Nicola (7 December 2023). "I'm A Celeb's Nick Pickard shares host of jungle secrets after being eliminated". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
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